


The Gift

by UnluckyAmulet



Category: Bleach
Genre: Characters will be added as they appear - Freeform, Dominant!Grimmjow, F/M, Fanfiction, Fingering, Fraccion!Reader, Gin is a sneaky fuck, Lemon, Minor Violence, Reader Insert, Smut, porn with a little plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-13
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2018-10-03 18:18:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10254263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnluckyAmulet/pseuds/UnluckyAmulet
Summary: Let it never be said Aizen doesn't reward his minions...





	1. New Girl

To say that Luppi's death was met with very little fanfare would be an understatement.

For all his talk of his "dear Espada", it was patently clear that Aizen cared for one thing and one thing only - their usefulness. Grimmjow may have been a loose canon, primed for destruction and chaos at any moment, but there was no denying who was a more preferable member of Aizen's army.

No sooner had Luppi's body (or what was left of it) had been dragged from the throne room that the mission had been deemed a success. Ulquiorra disappeared with a terrified Orihime Inoue in tow, and the other gathered arrancar took the opportunity to excuse themselves as well. Grimmjow was about to leave, his mind already on other things, when Gin's voice rang out in the darkness. Grimmjow had scarcely even noticed the silver-haired man was there when the singsong tones reached his ears,

"Oh, and Grimmjow-san..."

"What?" the blue-haired Espada said tersely, still flexing the fingers of his left hand.

"Before ya go, here's a little somethin' for ya...think of it as a… reward, fer earnin' yer rank back."

With that smug smile still firmly in place, Gin reached for something in the shadows.

The next thing you knew, you were dragged by your wrist into the light and shoved forwards. You almost overbalanced, but managed to save yourself from falling just in time, righting yourself. You licked your bottom lip nervously as Grimmjow turned fully to face you, incredulity painted across his features.

"What's this?" he growled softly, as if you were merely a dumb animal who couldn't understand him.

"Yer new fraccion," Gin supplied, grin stretching all the wider, and up on his throne, Aizen's lips twitched, "Since yer old ones are all gone now - such a shame. Try not to break this one so soon, ne?"

Your blood froze to ice at Gin's taunting words. Fraccion? To him? The Espada who had not half an hour ago blasted - no, incinerated - Luppi to kingdom come? Not that you felt much grief for the former-Espada, he was smug, arrogant and thoroughly unpleasant. But the heat, the intensity of the cero...you were a soldier, bred to be a member of Aizen's army, but you could only hope against hope you did not die so painfully.

Of course, if Grimmjow was to be your direct superior, that was probably the only type of death you could reasonably expect.

Grimmjow was clenching his jaw, but he didn't argue the point. Instead he turned sharply on his heel and walked out of the room, jerking his head as he passed you, the only indicator he gave that he wanted you to follow him. You couldn't help but notice Gin watching you as you left, like it was the most entertaining thing he'd seen all day. He seemed to take a perverse glee in making others nervous, and you were definitely no exception. This, though…this was a whole new level.

~

Grimmjow didn't speak to you as he led the way to his quarters, but he didn't need to. Anger poured off him like steam, his back held stiffly and eyes glaring straight ahead. You were careful to keep up with him whilst staying out of his immediate range - the further away from the stifling presence of Aizen, Gin and Tousen he got, the less reason he had to hold back that infamous temper of his.

And you, you were right in the line of fire.

"In here," he snapped at you, making you jolt involuntarily.

Keeping your head down, you followed him inside. You wondered idly where Grimmjow had been sleeping, since after his unceremonious demotion, Luppi had been granted all the perks of being an Espada, including the Sexta's old sleeping quarters. He hadn't kept that position for very long, however, so it looked like he had not much time to alter it to his tastes, to your immense relief. The last thing you wanted was for Grimmjow's anger to boil over because Luppi had put throw pillows everywhere or something.

You bit down on the inside of your cheek to suppress a snort.

You were jerked rather rudely from your musings when a hand shot out and grabbed your collar, pulling you around so you were facing your new 'master'. You let out a muffled yelp of alarm.

"Let's get one thing straight," Grimmjow growled at you, his voice rumbling in his throat, reiatsu swelling like an approaching storm, "If you're spying on me for fox face, or Aizen, I'll fucking kill you where you stand."

"I-I'm not!" you said in a strangulated voice - you only had to take one look at those brilliantly blue eyes to know he meant every word. "I swear I'm not!"

Without thinking about it, you grabbed his arm with both hands in a desperate attempt to get his iron grip off you. It wouldn't have worked, of course, but you couldn't really say you were feeling terribly calm and logical in that moment. A few agonising seconds passed as you tried desperately to keep ahold of what was left of your composure. Thankfully, Grimmjow seemed satisfied with your response and let you go as roughly as he'd grabbed on.

"Good," he grunted, "Because I don't give a shit what Aizen wants or what he's planning on doing, but he said there's a fight coming. Those shinigami are mine to kill, and I don't want any more fucking weaklings getting in my way."

You scowled, skin prickling at his words. He'd never even seen you fight, yet here he was, automatically dismissing you as weak. True, your strength didn't come close to matching that of an Espada, but being so bluntly written off raised your hackles, Sexta or not.

"Weaklings like your old fraccion, you mean?" you said, folding your arms over your chest. "The ones hand-picked by you? Yeah, I heard what happened to them. Died like a bunch of slaughtered pigs."

Grimmjow's eyes flashed, and your stomach clenched as he advanced on you, you taking steps backwards without realising it. Your back hit the wall as Grimmjow loomed over you, his hand grabbing your jaw, forcing you to look up at him, nearly pulling you off your feet- you had to stand up on tiptoes just to keep your balance.

"That's right," he said, and the fact he wasn't yelling was somehow far more frightening than a shout, "They died 'cause they were weak. Just like you will if you don't watch your mouth. I may not have asked for another fraccion, brat, but remember this - you're still _mine._ Got that?"

"Yes," you said, fighting back the urge to struggle in his hold.

Suddenly, he leant forwards, his mask fragment scraping your cheek and you let out a squeal as he sank his teeth into your shoulder - hard.

His teeth sank into the juncture between your neck and shoulder, but you noted through your haze of shock that he didn't appear to have broken the skin - the bite was more like a warning, a promise of what future backchat might invite. He was a predator amongst all things, and there was something about how primal this action of dominance was that sent heat coursing through you, your body held rigid as you waited for him to stop.

Grimmjow smirked as you twitched beneath him, the little noise of pain and surprise you made like music to his ears. Perhaps having a girl around wouldn't be so bad after all - he certainly wouldn't have done this with any of his old subordinates, and they didn't smell anywhere near as nice. He couldn't help but notice, nose only inches from your hair. After a moment, he relinquished his mouth from your throat...though not before giving the mark on your neck a lick.

"Yes, _what?_ " he pressed, his hot breath fanning over your neck.

"Yes, _Grimmjow,_ " you muttered, fingers twitching to examine your neck.

You didn't think he'd caused anything permanent, but it was entirely possible Grimmjow's teeth were just so sharp you didn't properly feel the impact. A sobering thought, indeed.

He grunted, his eyes lazy and half-lidded as he looked you up and down.

"That's better," he said, finally allowing you a little space.

You released a breath you didn't realise you'd been holding, watching him from beneath your eyelashes. He straightened up and, stuffing hid hands in his pockets, headed for the door. You blinked, taken aback by his sudden switch in mood.

"Where are you going?" you asked.

"Out," he replied, shooting you a look over his shoulder. "You, stay here."

His tone brooked no argument and you wisely decided to keep further questions to yourself, at least for now.

You waited until Grimmjow's reiatsu vanished from the immediate area- you could still feel remnants of it, like static electricity, but the overwhelming pressure of it was gone. From how faint it was, you'd guess he'd left Las Noches entirely. He was still in Hueco Mundo itself, no doubt about that - you didn't think he'd risk another unsanctioned trip to the human world.

Still, with Grimmjow gone, you could explore the place freely and try to find somewhere to sleep. As far as you knew, fraccion slept in the same quarters as their masters, but the exact specifics eluded you. Lilinette, for example, went everywhere Starrk did, unless it was an Espada-only meeting. So she probably slept beside him too, but you couldn't see the same applying to the rest of the Espada and their subordinates. Where had Grimmjow's slept?

You were thankful that it seemed as though Aizen somehow knew Luppi would not be a permanent fixture, because everything here was very Spartan, presumably to Grimmjow's preference. You found a couple of rooms that looked unused; they could have belonged to his fraccion, kind of like a dorm of sorts. It was difficult to tell, though, because all the furniture had been either removed or stripped down to the bare essentials - you could see faint shadows on the walls where things had once stood. Still, you did manage to locate a spare mattress that was suitably clean and a cupboard with sheets and other things. (You could only assume the low-level arrancar that functioned like maids were the ones who used it. No way would the Espada condescend to do their own damn laundry. You felt a brief flicker of pity for those glorified maids, having to brave the living space of Syazel or Nnoitra, just to grab their dirty clothes.)

Despite feeling better now you'd sorted out a place to sleep, unease descended now your job was done. It's not like Grimmjow could exactly sneak up on you, not with his highly distinctive reiatsu, yet you still felt inexplicably paranoid that someone or something was going to jump you at any moment. It was probably a combination of how very large, yet quiet, it was.

Maybe...

You bit your lip, thinking.

You were new to this whole fraccion thing, that much was painfully obvious. So...maybe you could simply ask some of them what was expected of you. It seemed a more desirable option than learning the hard way, but who to ask?

Perhaps Halibel's? They might not have been the most affable bunch, but it was clear they loved their mistress, and she them. Plus, there was something to be said about the solidarity among females. If you told them about being handed over to Grimmjow, that would surely inspire a little bit of sympathy. You weren't expecting a miracle, but if you could at least have an idea of what to do, it would make life tolerable.

Mind made up, you turned and headed out of Grimmjow's quarters with quick, determined steps. Yes, he had told you to stay, but his instructions had been rather vague. Did he mean in that room? In his quarters in general? In Las Noches itself? Surely he couldn't expect you to wait for him indefinitely, and you had no real way of knowing exactly how much time he'd leave you by yourself. For all you knew, he planned on being gone for days.

As you headed out, you felt for reiatsu, still unable to shake the feeling of being observed, but you couldn't detect anything besides Grimmjow's lingering faintly. No doubt that small remainder of an Espada was enough to send most running. Hell, you'd probably be among their ranks had Gin not practically wrapped you up and handed you over to him like a present.

The thought sent an uncomfortable prickle down you, going from the nape of your neck all the way down your spine. It was the only stroke of luck you had that Grimmjow seemed largely disinterested in you, besides making sure of establishing who was in charge. At least he didn't think you were a spy and had kindly refrained from killing or seriously maiming you...at least, for now.

Shivering, you quickened your pace. Though you were only planning to be gone a short while, you didn't plan on being caught. The sooner you spoke to the others, the better.

~

_Hours later..._

A gurgle left the hollow's throat as it died, falling to the ground and landing in a glistening pool of blood.

Grimmjow sneered, his teeth startlingly white under the light of the moon. Blood dripped from Grimmjow's hand, and he flexed his fingers, looking down at his scarlet palm. It was impossible - should have been impossible, but his arm was just as it was before that fucker Tousen butchered it. The stray hollows that lay dead at his feet were testament to that.

And, well, aside from testing out his newly restored arm, he had other reasons for coming out here. Out here in the shifting sands, he was free to fight indiscriminately; feeling blood on his hands and feeling it pulse through him. It made him feel alive, that drive to grow stronger, to fight, to conquer. He needed to direct it somewhere, after killing Luppi he was already overflowing with energy, the urge to kill more, but the silver-haired shinigami had to go and throw him a curveball, didn’t he?

Grimmjow didn't know what Gin's game was, but he knew he didn't like it. Why had he given you to him? Was it a dig about how the Sexta was the only Espada who had all his subordinates die in battle? Was it an elaborate way of humiliating him, giving him a weakling to babysit? He had no idea, which was perhaps the most frustrating part. He did not generally tolerate frustration very long, hence his outing to the desert. Killing low-level hollows out here was the perfect outlet to his rage, but the hollows he’d managed to surprise was beginning to grow thin in supply – the survivors had been smart enough to turn tail and run.

Grimmjow was just debating if he could be assed to give chase and kill the rest of them as well, when something made him pause, miles away.

He sensed a flare of reiatsu from afar, one that he had become recently acquainted with – yours. It was like a pinprick of light in the darkness, but at this distance Grimmjow had to concede that you had more of it than he’d first assumed from looking at you.

However, what distracted him wasn’t the sudden surge in power, but the placement. Other energy was close by – very close by. That could only mean one of two things. Either some idiot arrancar had entered his quarters (which was tantamount to suicide for them), or the far more likely explanation, you had ignored his instruction and slipped out on your own.

His eyes narrowed.

“Tch.”

Grimmjow spat contemptuously into the sands, not even sparing a glance at the bodies nearby, his gaze focused on Las Noches, a mere speck from this distance. Apparently, for all your submission from before, it looked like his little pet didn’t yet know how to follow orders. He’d just have to take care of that personally, wouldn’t he?

With a flicker, he vanished.


	2. Learning the ropes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your wonderful encouragement thus far, it's been so amazing to get such lovely feedback! :D
> 
> Also, HUGE shout-out to my fellow hoe, FungusWitch, who writes the super amazing Bleach fic 'Sex In the Seireitei', which you absolutely need to go check out. Without her I probably wouldn't have had the motivation to write this. I hope this meets up to you expectations, boo! <3
> 
> (Also, there is a very minor OC arrancar, but don't worry, he's just there for drama purposes.)

Word travelled fast in Las Noches, so you couldn't help but feel a perverse sense of triumph to be the one to spread gossip, even if it was about you. It was worth it just seeing the gobsmacked expressions on the three faces around you.

"You gotta be fuckin' shitting me!" Apache yelled, predictably the first one to react.

"'Fraid not," you replied grimly, fingers going to touch the mark still fresh and tender on your neck, "One second Gin's telling me to meet him in the throne room, next thing I know, he's telling Grimmjow I'm his new fraccion."

There was a pause as the three fraccion digested this. You had found them just returning from a little training – apparently even having slanging matches got boring after a while, so they’d found an empty room nearby Halibel’s quarters to practice a fighting. You didn’t ask them where their mistress was – you weren’t sure that you wanted to know. As long as you could have a few minutes with her girls without her courteous and yet somehow terrifying presence nearby, that was all you cared about at the moment. It was odd, but you felt uncomfortable talking about your dubiety around another Espada. It wasn’t that you thought she’d report to Grimmjow what she’d heard; it just seemed like a matter that someone as powerful as her couldn’t possibly comprehend. Besides, she made you nervous. With these three, you knew them well enough that their behaviour was fairly predictable to you, and there was comfort in the routine.

Apache glanced at the other two, her eyebrow twitching, though even with her typically annoyed look, it was clear she was just as bewildered as they were. Sun-Sung was gazing at you pensively and Mira-Rose frowned, her arms crossed under her impressive chest. 

"Shit. What are you gonna do?" asked Mira-Rose.

"Well, that's why I came looking for you three," you explained, twisting a piece of hair around your finger, "You have a great relationship with Halibel and I wanted to know...how do you do it? I mean, where did you even meet her?"

The three fraccion glanced at each other, sharing a look with a dozen meanings you were not privy to. It just went to show that these girls shared a bond that ran far deeper than their petty squabbling let on. In a way, you couldn't help but be a little jealous.

"I don't know how much it will help," Sun-Sung warned you, holding her sleeve over her mouth, "Halibel-sama and Grimmjow are very different."

"Don't I know it," you said wryly, thinking of the cool, impassive gaze of Halibel’s against the scorching, imperious look Grimmjow gave you, "Just...humour me? Anything could be of use."

"Alright," Mira-Rose said, after a pause, the three arrancar seeming to reach some kind of silent agreement. "It all started before the shinigami came..."

~

Listening to Apache, Mira-Rose and Sung-Sun's story, with each of them chipping in, arguing and embellishing with each newly-recalled detail, you couldn't help the stab of envy in your stomach. You did not remember much of your time as an adjuchas, just scattered fragments here and there. You did recall the sensation of being alone, wandering through the vast desert, trying to avoid getting hunted down. Survival - that was all that drove you, all that kept you going. But these three, throughout it all, had each other. Someone to watch for enemies when needed, someone to talk to when the silence got to be too much, someone to just be _there_. And then for Halibel to come along, offering to join forces with them and to keep them safe… It was a debt they'd no doubt spend the rest of their lives trying to repay.

Still, talking with them had granted you with a new perspective on something.

Fraccion may have been chosen by their Espada, but that didn't necessarily mean that they had no say in the matter. They respected their chosen leader, wanted to be near that strength, even if they couldn't reach that level themselves. Interestingly, they seemed relatively happy with their position - hell, even Tesla looked like he was in reasonably good condition, considering he spent all his time by Nnoitra's side. Frankly it was nothing short of a miracle he had all of his limbs still attached. 

If he could do it, so could you.

A newfound determination had seized you as you walked down the hall, having bid the girls goodbye. They wished you luck (you'd need it) and told you that if you failed to come back, they'd have to assume you were dead. You were vaguely sure that was their roundabout way of asking you to visit them again soon.

A smile curved the corners of your lips as you made your way back to your new living space (which was perhaps a generous term for the tiny room you'd claimed as your own), when you heard a sound. Snickering, down the corridor to your left. Your eyes narrowed.

"Is it true?" a male voice rang out in the empty hall, and you felt yourself stiffen with dislike.

Three male arrancar stood blocking your way, each of them wearing a smug smirk. Though you had only a few vague memories of your history, you did recall that often you had to run from packs of arrancar like these, and it seemed like they had managed to make it all the way to Las Noches as well. The one of the middle was their leader, a little blowhard named Aguja with thin, pointed teeth like a predatory fish, which he bared at you in a grin. You scoffed inwardly - like a few sharp teeth were really going to scare you.

"Is what true?" you asked blandly, well aware of what he meant, but damned if you were going to make anything easy for him.

"That you're the sorry bitch who got tossed to the Sexta," grinned Aguja, though it seemed a little strained to you - you were irritating him by not playing along with his game. "Is it true?"

"True or not, what's it got to do with you?" you asked coldly, rolling your eyes as if the conversation was simply too boring for words, but you couldn't help but notice the growing tension in the way they stood, the little crackle of raised reiatsu in the air.

Your fingers drifted towards your hip and you stiffened - shit! You didn't have your sword; you'd left it back in Grimmjow's quarters. You hadn't wanted Apache, Mira-Rose and Sung-Sun to see you coming with it and interpret it as an invitation to fight. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

"Cause if it _is_ true," Aguja sing-songed as he glided forwards, eyes gleaming as he observed your reaction, enjoying himself, "I guess that's the last of you, right? I heard what he did to the old Sexta and _he_ was an Espada. A puny female like you won't last any time at all."

That did it, the final yank on your already-frayed nerves and you could practically feel yourself unravelling as you clenched your fists.

"Eat me." you spat.

He laughed, the bastard, and his cronies (you'd never bothered to learn their names) laughed along with him, the noise echoing in the empty corridor, the sound making your ears ring. It was like being surrounded by a dozen of them, not three.

"Oh, did I touch a nerve?" he goaded you in a shrill voice. "You wanna fight? Bring it on; I'm a little bored anyway. Got an itch to scratch."

You smirked as you flexed your fingers, feeling the rippling tingle of energy and swirling heat gather in your palm, before you raised a hand, illuminating the faces before you in a bright, brilliant glow.

"Scratch _this._ "

The cero rocketed from your hand, filling the corridor with both light and that peculiar rushing sound, leaving behind enough supercharged reiatsu to make your hair crackle with static. The three of them were standing so close together that they had no room to scramble out of the way. A grin stole across your face as the trio of arrancar were blasted off their feet, hitting the wall behind them with an audible (and very satisfying) crunch. The scent of burnt fabric greeted your nose and you choked back a laugh. Their faces! You'd remember that for a long time, that was for sure.

You weren't dumb enough to stand and gloat though, and took off in a flicker of sonido. The last thing you needed was someone to investigate, and you were technically unarmed.

_"Bitch!!"_

You let out a shriek as something tackled you from the side, sending you and your attacker into a hallway, your body bouncing slightly as it hit the floor. Swearing, you kicked Aguja away from you, scrambling out of the crater left in the floor. You had just enough time to dodge as his sword came swinging down, like he intended to split you in half from the skull down. Behind him, you could see his cronies watching you from around the corner, but at least your surprise attack had wiped the smiles off their faces.

Your arm came up to block another blow and you bit down hard on the inside of your cheek as the blade sliced your skin – your hierro might have been able to withstand it, but not indefinitely and certainly not without pain. A second blocked hit and you felt blood seeping down your arm. You scowled.

Bastard. He’d ripped your favourite gloves.

“Coward,” you taunted as you sidestepped another swing from the sword – he was starting to get sloppy in his anger, “Scared to fight a _puny woman_ barehanded? Need two buddies and a sword to make up for having no balls?”

Oh, it was a low blow, but it did the trick. His teeth flashed like splinters and with a snarl of rage, Aguja flung his sword aside and lunged at you. 

You kicked off on your heels, throwing your weight forwards and slashed your nails down his face.

~

It did not take Grimmjow all that long to find you.

It’s just that he wasn’t expecting to see what he found.

Who would've thought you had it in you?

Concealing his reiatsu (something he admittedly rarely bothered to do) he hung back a little, watching you with interest, head tilted curiously. If a Hollow wants to live, they fight. That was the way of their kind, always had been. Yet some of the arrancar who roamed the halls of Las Noches were pitifully weak despite that, quaking in the shadows and scuttling around in packs. Seeing you in the throne room, numb with shock at Gin's little prank, Grimmjow had assumed you belonged in that category. Why else would he be handed over a "reward" like that? 

Clearly, he had been wrong.

And seeing you like this, with blood streaking your face and eyes dark with anger, damned if he didn't get a little...excited. What new facets of you would be presented to him, if he chose to pursue it?

The arrancar fighting you wasn't faring well. A deep slash of blood had stained his forehead, falling down his face like a slick of oil and his breathing was heavy and loud. He straightened up as best he could as you shifted your weight, sending a seething look of hatred in your direction - he'd obviously counted on a lone female being easy pickings and the fact you were kicking his ass in front of witnesses was nothing short of humiliating.

Sneering, the injured arrancar rested a hand on the wall to steady himself, fingertips leaving a bloody smear on the pristine white marble. 

"Boys," he said, his earlier frustration melting away into something else, something cool and calculating. He shot you a malevolent smile and your eyes widened.

The two cronies, who had hung back this entire time, suddenly moved in a blur. One moment they were far away, the next you were being flanked either side by white shapes, and they'd drawn their swords, the metal whistling towards your throat.

You raised your arms to block...

The next moment, you felt like you’d been hit by a tidal wave. The sudden flare of reiatsu went off like a bomb, the impact of it making you stagger backwards. It was so disorienting that at first you didn’t notice the white blur that moved in front of you…or at least, you didn’t until it spoke.

“Pathetic.”

You almost slumped against the wall as Grimmjow’s reiatsu pulsed around you – it was rather similar to standing in the direct center of a thunderstorm and the sheer power made you lightheaded. You could only be grateful he was facing away from you, because going by the torrent of reiatsu around you and his voice, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez was _pissed._

The arrancar had been blasted back just by the force of his sudden appearance, and you could see the absolute panic in their eyes even from this distance. You could feel your own heart pounding hard in your chest as he began to move towards them, his hands shoved in the pockets of his hakama.

“Just one question for you dumb fucks,” Grimmjow said, in that lazy, nonchalant way of his, but you’d be a fool to believe he was feeling anything close to relaxed as he stalked to the now visibly-cowering arrancar.

“Did you really think you could fuck with what’s _mine?_ Huh?!”

A ripple went down your back at his words, his deep voice striking a chord with you that vibrated like a plucked string, when one of the silent sidekicks lost it.

“It was all his idea! We only did what he told us to!” he shrieked, pointing at Aguja with a trembling hand. “Please-!“

“Yeah?” Grimmjow’s grin flashed wide and manic. “Then you two can die fast.”

He kept to his word. One moment he was there, and then he was gone. He reappeared in front of the hysterical males, his hand slamming into the stomach of the first one, just the way he’d done to Luppi only a day ago, blood spraying the wall as the arrancar let out a gurgling death cry. The second one tried to take advantage of his comrade’s butchering and flee, but he didn’t get far. His shriek was cut off as Grimmjow snapped his neck, with the swift, brutal efficiency of a cat when it’s bored of playing with its meal.

You wanted to look away, but you could not move. Your body sat heavy and uncooperative as if an actual, physical weight was holding you down. Grimmjow’s power, the total ease of his actions and those words, they had you rooted to the spot. Plus, you were in enough trouble already – running away now would be beyond stupid, it would be tantamount to suicide.

Speaking of which, it seemed now it was Aguja’s turn to meet his maker. Grimmjow turned to him now, face curiously expressionless. Killing faceless hollow in the desert had begun to bore him, but this, this was different. It was a matter of pride, that he made sure that everyone understood a simple fact.

_Touch the girl, you die._

“Look at her,” Grimmjow ordered, his voice low in the charged silence.  
Slowly, the arrancar did, and despite the look of fury he gave you, the overwhelming fear was so palpable in his eyes that there was no room for anything else. You saw his eyes drift down from your face to the prominent bite mark on your neck. His eye widened in horrified understanding and you felt a blush crawl, unbidden, across your cheeks.

Grimmjow's eyes locked with yours, the brilliant blue pinning you to the spot, and as dangerous as it was to stare back, you couldn't tear your eyes away.

“Go wait for me,” Grimmjow said to you, and his voice alone sent a shiver down your back. _“Now.”_

His reiatsu receded, just a little, just enough to allow you to stand and move without immediately wanting to collapse on the floor. You know if you set so much as a foot outside of his quarters now, you’d likely have the offending appendage removed.

You swallowed.

“Yes…Grimmjow.”

With that, you vanished in a flicker of sonido, the corridor fading away, Aguja’s howl of agony still ringing in your ears.

~

Your heart pounded in your throat as you nervously paced inside Grimmjow’s quarters. If the silence had been bothering you before, now it was almost torture. Was that part of the Sexta’s plan? To let you think about the impending punishment before it happened, give you time to stew over it before you were practically begging for it just to be over?

More importantly, would you still have all your arms and legs by the time he was done?

Unable to think of anything better to do, you trudged to the bathroom and started trying to wash some of the blood off. You examined your torn glove with dismay, far more bothered about that than you were about any of the gashes on your skin from Aguja’s sword. Idly you wondered if you could find a maid or something to fix or replace it…you really were attached to them. Looking yourself over, you’d managed to get most of the blood off, though there was a cut on your forearm that would probably bleed again before it scabbed over. Nothing you could do about it, it wasn’t worth going to the infirmary for. Sighing, you exited the bathroom, footsteps virtually silent now you’d taken off your boots-

“What the _fuck_ did I tell you?!”

And then the unsettling silence was utterly shattered as you found yourself pinned to the wall, stomach-first with a fist wrapped around your neck by a furious Espada.

You almost wet yourself.

Grimmjow was pressed against your back, so very firm and solid against you, and you could feel every breath he took, deep from his chest. You’d had to turn your face to the side before you were slammed against the wall so you didn’t have your nose smashed against it or worse, broken, and now you could see blazing blue out of the corner of your eye. It was almost a good thing his fist was wrapped tightly around the back of your neck, because that furious, smouldering gaze made your legs weak.

“You were gone so long…I didn’t think you meant I should just stay shut up in here indefinitely,” you tried to say calmly, but there was no keeping the squeak of panic out of your voice.

“I don’t give a fuck what you thought!” he snarled, and oh god, his voice was so close, mouth right by your ear. Almost as if in response to him, the mark on your neck tingled. “If I tell you to stay, then you don’t move unless I say otherwise. You think I’m fucking stupid? That I didn’t notice you prancing around by yourself when I left? Going to report back to Ichimaru?”

His grip tightened, squeezing painfully.

“I-I went to talk to some fraccion!” you yelped, your voice loud and your eyes shut, unable to stand that stare any longer. “I told you before, I’m not spying – I didn’t go anywhere near the shinigami –“

“Why?” interrupted Grimmjow, his grip loosening just a little. Though you knew he couldn’t properly strangle you from behind, he was still in a great position to snap your neck if he felt like it.

“What?” you chanced a peek at him.

“Why would you go see someone else’s fraccion?” he demanded. “Who were they?”

“Halibel’s…those girls,” you scrambled to explain, “I know them a little. I wanted to know why they serve Halibel and they seemed like the best people to ask. Why they’d pledge their lives to her, why she chose them in the first place. I…I wanted to understand what it means to be a fraccion. I know you didn’t choose me, but I didn’t ask for this either. So I…thought I’d try to at least hear out what they had to say. That’s all. I swear, I wasn’t disobeying you on purpose…”

You trailed off, waiting. Grimmjow had fallen totally silent during your little speech, which was almost as terrifying as his earlier rage.

Grimmjow stared at the back of your head, his own slightly cocked. What a curious creature you were turning out to be – giving him this little speech with enemy blood still splattered on your clothing. You had a sharp tongue and the ability to think on your feet, but eyes that could never quite meet his for long. You weren’t afraid when those arrancar fought you three-on-one, but you were now. The mixture of both submission and defiance intrigued him, made him want to push you further and further. His eyes wandered lazily up and down your form pinned by his hand, noting how very different your body was to his. Idly, he traced his thumb over the mark on your neck, nail deliberately pricking at the fragile skin.

You stiffened, breath catching in your throat.

Why the fuck did that make you _wet?_

Grimmjow abruptly stopped his movements as a new scent mingled with yours, his superior sense of smell catching it immediately. He sniffed once, and you bit down on the inside of your cheek.

“Now ain’t that cute,” Grimmjow smirked – of course he wasn’t going to let that pass. “Does getting bit get you off, kitten?”

“What?!” you squawked, blushing harder. “No, I-“

Your protest didn’t get much further than that, as Grimmjow, without so much as a word of warning, shoved his hand down the front your hakama. You let out a thoroughly undignified squeak as his hard fingers nudged past the thin material of your underwear to your slick core.

“Liar,” he growled, eyes lit up with wild excitement, his digit working against you, “You’re fucking _drenched._ ”

“Mmph…”

You let out a muffled moan, biting down hard on your lip as he continued to tease you, not outright entering but rubbing in a way that felt so good that you were beginning to feel very grateful for the wall, because without it to take your weight you would be struggling to remain upright.

“You like that?” Grimmjow breathed into your ear. He wasn’t pinning you to the wall anymore – he didn’t need to. You were braced against the surface, palms flat, while Grimmjow pressed into you from behind, almost grinding into you and you could feel exactly how ‘excited’ he was getting. “Hmm? You like getting all marked up and pinned down, little girl? Like being shown who’s boss?”

“Ah-!” you cried out as he bit you again, opposite side this time, his teeth and mask fragment scraping punishingly against your skin. “Fuck!”

His hand – that wondrous, torturous hand, slowed down suddenly, and you could have cried from disappointment when his voice growled in your ear,

“Look at you,” he taunted, a feral grin spreading wide across his face, “You want it so fucking bad. Maybe I should leave you like this – teach you a lesson about not listening.”

Slowly, teasingly, he began to withdraw his hand, and you were so frustratingly close you almost growled with impatience. Desperate and indignant, you grabbed your waistband, determined to finish things yourself, but Grimmjow pinned both your arms to your sides by clamping his free arm around your waist.

“Ah, ah,” he chided, darkly amused, “Think I’m gonna let you off that easy?”

“Grimmjow-“ you gasped, and it took all your willpower not to start moving your hips to ease some of the tension that way.

Grimmjow snickered, breathing in that fucking addictive scent, made all the better thanks to your obvious arousal. In truth it was difficult for him to just stand here watching to you squirm and writhe and pant without fucking you right then and there, but he knew a little delay would make the reward all the sweeter.

“Huh? What was that?” he crooned, a knuckle just grazing your clit. “Louder.”

“Grimmjow, _please!_ ” you gasped, sweat making your forehead damp.

_Fuck._

“Since you asked so _nicely,_ ” Grimmjow purred and finally, finally, he sank his fingers deep into you.

You hissed and your back arched of its own accord as he curled his fingers, beckoning, his thumb rubbing mercilessly against your clit. You couldn’t stop the lewd panting spilling from your lips as he pumped his fingers in a way that left you as dizzy as being overwhelmed by his reiatsu, and about a hundred times more rewarding. Tingles of pleasure had graduated to bolts, sparking up and down your body and making you moan. Grimmjow canted his head and sucked hard on your newest bite, and it sent you over the edge, knowing it wasn’t the first mark on you and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. A cry left your throat, mouth falling open as you feel the rush of release.

“Ahh…”

You sagged against him, limp, breath leaving you in shaky gasps. It was smart of him to clamp you to his chest – your legs were shaking. 

You didn’t have time to savour the euphoria for very long, because the next thing you knew, you landed on something soft, bouncing slightly. Opening your eyes, you sat up on your elbows, disoriented. A bed? Grimmjow’s bed? Fuck.

Spots danced in your vision for a moment, until you noted Grimmjow approaching. A very shirtless Grimmjow, every muscle in his chest and arms so very well-defined, especially compared to how minimalist the rest of the room was. During the point you’d gone from the wall to here, he’d shed his bolero jacket, sword and boots, leaving only his hakama fastened around his hips. You had a feeling they would not remain there for very long.

“Why am I-?” you mumbled, moving to sit up properly, but Grimmjow thwarted any attempts at moving when he straddled your waist, leaning back on his haunches as his eyes bore down on you, watching the rise and fall of your chest with approval.

“ _Che._ Don’t be naïve, girl. Didn’t you hear what I said?” Grimmjow drawled, but his splitting grin and leer let you know that his intentions were nothing but obscene. “You’re not getting off that easy. Now, it’s my turn.”

You gulped.

Clearly, you were in for the long haul…


	3. Intruders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you guys so much for your comments and kudos, I feel loved. <3 Sorry this chapter came a bit later (ha) after me leaving you on such a tease, but I'm ironing out the plot (what little of it there is XD) and wanted to make sure I had it coherent in my head. Special shout-out to both senpai FungusWitch and to Erin, who I showed this fic and then she screamed at me to give her the rest of it. XD
> 
> Anyway, on with the show!

Grimmjow gave a lopsided grin as he observed the sight before him. Pinned down by his hand locked around your wrists, you lay panting beneath him. Your shirt, courtesy of him, was torn up the middle, revealing your rising and falling breasts, the tender skin of your stomach. He made an approving purr deep in his throat as his eyes travelled downwards, only a pair of thin black underwear as the last barrier covering you. You fidgeted beneath his burning gaze, a bead of sweat rolling down your temple. Your eyes snapped to his when you heard a dark chuckle.

"What's so funny?" you growled, trying to sit up, but his grip was like iron and he pinned you with insulting ease on his part, so you settled for glaring at him.

"You are," was his blunt reply, as he leant down and dragged his tongue across one of your breasts, making sure to flick over the most sensitive part, making you gasp. "You look so..."

Azure eyes drank in the sight of your flushed face, his breath fanning over your skin.

_"...fuckable."_

Your eyes snapped open as Grimmjow leered at you before moving down between your legs. A loud squeak flew from your mouth before you could stop it as Grimmjow nipped the sensitive skin of your inner thigh - a place that wasn't generally touched a whole lot, let alone bitten. He flashed you a dark smirk as he took down your underwear...

with his teeth.

Your heart seemed to jolt in your chest as your last remaining barrier was unceremoniously shredded. You were utterly exposed to him now...you could only hope he liked what he saw. His stare seemed to burn into you like a brand and he reached out, dragging a finger up your inner thigh, sending tiny jolts of excitement through you as his hand reached your slick entrance. You twitched at the touch, body taut with anticipation. Grimmjow snorted in amusement, hooking his thumb in the waistband of his hakama and tugging them down, finally getting as naked as you were. You couldn't help but gawk at the size of him - it was a good thing he'd made sure you were thoroughly wet, because you would certainly need it. No wonder he always swaggered everywhere he went.

Grimmjow seemed pleased by your silent gazing, however.

"Like what you see, girl?" he all but purred.

Quickly you looked away; embarrassed to be caught staring so blatantly, even though he’d been looking at your naked self utterly shamelessly. It felt weird to be ogling someone so vicious, so easily capable of ripping you apart if he so chose.

"Sorry, I just..."

Suddenly his face was inches from yours, sharp fangs only centimeters from your throat. Your fingers tightened on the sheets as you tried not to make any sudden movements.

"Wait 'til you feel me fuck you with it."

That was all the warning he gave before you felt the blunt head of his cock nudge against your entrance before Grimmjow surged his hips forwards, sliding all the way in, making sure that you felt every damn inch of him, bit by bit. You let out a gasp as he filled you, thick and hot and your hips jerked reflexively, trying your best to accommodate. It hurt a little bit but when he began to move it, tingling shocks surged within you from head to toe. He grabbed your thighs in his hands, squeezing and dragging you to an even deeper position, stroking you hard from the inside, body so large and heavy over your own. You gasped and your hands flew to his broad shoulders, nails digging into his skin, raking thin lines down his shoulder blades. He actually _snarled_ and usually that would have sent you running in terror, but right now it was the hottest thing you'd ever heard.

"Ah, Grimmj- fuck!" you spluttered out, panting so hard you could barely talk - the pressure so hot and pulsing you were nearly lightheaded with it. _“Oh god…”_

Grimmjow leant down and bit and sucked along your collarbone, the strands of blue hair brushing your cheek.

“That’s it, kitten,” he rumbled, his own speech strained, “Come for me.”

Now there was an order you could get behind. Not that you had much choice in following it when he kept up his inexorable pace, driving choked gasps out of you with slow, deep, grinding thrusts. Stars popped in your field of vision as pleasure overwhelmed you, your body trembling and tingles buzzing up and down your nerve endings, your back arching and fingers curling. Grimmjow fucked like he fought- hard, fast and utterly without mercy. Your mouth opened in a thin moan as your muscles clenched, your stomach twisting as a shiver shot from your crown all the way down your back, releasing bolts of pleasure that rendered you speechless.

_"AH...!"_

“Fuck!” Grimmjow swore as he felt your walls tighten around him, and it didn’t take him too long to join you, his cock twitching inside you still as he groaned and finally, finally got the release he’d been craving since he saw you covered in that arrancar’s blood and fury in your eyes.

Sated, Grimmjow pulled out of you with a grunt, the heat of his body leaving you as he straightened up, making you frown slightly – without him you felt awfully…exposed. Not to mention chilly. You watched him sleepily from beneath your hair, admiring the way the sliver of moon highlighted the muscles in his chest. He wasn’t looking at you – would he tell you to leave?

You were surprised by how much the thought of that stung, but the sound of tearing cloth made you jump. Grimmjow tossed a scrap of white fabric at you, and you caught it and swung your legs over the side of the bed, quickly cleaning yourself up. A little primitive, but it’d do for now. Still, this small action seemed to sap you of the little energy you had and when you tried to stand up, you immediately had to sit back down, legs as wobbly as a calf’s.

The bed creaked as Grimmjow lay down, the sheets bunching around his midriff. You had no time to further ponder on his unusual silence – was he annoyed? Disappointed? – when his arm suddenly reached out and snagged you around the waist, dragging you back down and pulling you close until your back met hard muscle. He buried his nose in your hair and inhaled deeply, the faintest whisperings of a growl in his throat.

“Grimmjow?” you asked, unable to keep the sleepiness out of your voice.

“Go to sleep, woman.” he demanded, though the brusqueness of his words was mitigated by his hands sliding up your bare arms to grab your breasts. You twitched as his calloused fingers absently kneaded the soft, sensitive flesh. 

“I…okay,” you mumbled drowsily in reply – you really were exhausted and even his casual fondling wasn’t enough to jolt you from the wave of fatigue that engulfed you. You’d worry later.

He grunted.

“Good girl.”

You yawned and settled against the pillow, eyes sliding shut and feeling the prickle of teeth on your neck before sleep overtook you, granting you a hard-earned moment of rest.

~

It was difficult to estimate how much time passed. In Hueco Mundo, there was no real way of measuring it, at least not with the traditional rise and fall of the sun. There simply was no sun, only the moon remained, a silver sickle that waxed and waned the opposite of its earth counterpart. This was one of the few ways to track the endless nights, if you were so inclined to do so.

Deep in Las Noches, most of its inhabitants had no particular pattern of sleep and wakefulness – even arrancar slept, though it was often an indulgence granted to the strong. Weaker arrancar tended to rest in groups, to make it harder for bloodthirsty predators (or perhaps simply a bored one). For example, Coyote Starrk, the strongest Espada, spent most of his time sleeping, as an Espada who can overwhelm the majority of those who stray too close really has no need to stay vigilant.

Elsewhere in the spacious palace, Grimmjow was rudely awoken by a sudden surge of reiatsu that could be felt from miles away. It was something akin to a mirror being shattered by a blow of a sledgehammer, a strong shockwave of force followed by the scattered smaller pieces. He jolted upright, automatically on the alert even before his mind had caught up with his instincts, his fingers twitching to grab his sword. It took a moment, but he settled back against the headrest of the bed when he realised the reiatsu was not only far, but at the moment, had yet to stabilise. Still, the fact remained – there were intruders in Hueco Mundo.

Didn’t exactly take a genius to figure out who they might be.

Grimmjow’s eyes narrowed. Kurosaki Ichigo. No doubt he had come running to save that doe-eyed human woman who’d fixed up his arm. He didn’t know who else was there, the energy caused by the abrupt arrival had yet to calm down and telling one from another would have been like trying to grab a particular piece of wood out of the heart of a fire, but he didn’t much care. This time, on his own turf, nobody was going to show up and bail Kurosaki out of the fight and cause another goddamn delay. One way or another, Grimmjow would be the last man standing.

A small noise distracted the Sexta, and his eyes flicked down to you, still out cold and apparently blissfully unaware of any disturbances that might require your attention. You were still naked, but had unfortunately managed to cocoon yourself up in the covers as the night rolled by, so Grimmjow couldn’t see much besides your face, throat and shoulders. A smirk twitched at his mouth as he noted the marks he’d put on your neck and collarbone stood out nicely under the light of the moon, still fresh, still drawing the eye to them in a simple statement: mine.

He’d have to make sure you stayed out of the way, when the battle came. After last night he had no doubts anymore about whether or not he’d keep you around, those little squeaks and gasps you made and how fucking wet you’d become for him were far too entertaining and goddamn hot for him to get tired of anytime soon. Plus, you’d proved you could hold your own well enough, even if you weren’t close to the levels of an Espada such as himself, it didn’t seem like you’d just fucking roll over and die the minute you faced a strong opponent…he had to admit you’d had a point about his old fraccion, though like hell he’d ever say it out loud. But whether you could hold your own or not, he didn’t need a potential distraction when he finally put Kurosaki six feet under once and for all, and thus far you hadn’t proved the greatest at following orders…rather like himself, really.

As if agreeing with his musings, you sighed and turned over and Grimmjow stiffened as you fucking snuggled into his side before falling still again, your expression so relaxed it was almost devoid of expression. 

“Tch.” he muttered to your sleeping form, silently debating whether or not to wake you.

Really, it was almost comical – not long again you’d almost been frozen in fear just being in his presence, now look at you. Pressed up against him like it was the most natural thing in the world to be nestled up to one of the deadliest killers in Hueco Mundo. He supposed that’s what he got for making you stay by his side after fucking you senseless, but his instincts demanded you stay close by. Plus, he couldn’t get enough of that infuriatingly _addictive_ scent of you, and he’d slept much longer and better than he had in a long while with you there. Really, there wasn’t much incentive for him to have you sleeping anywhere else.

 _“My dear Espada,”_ a voice suddenly rang out, echoing a little as if on a loudspeaker, and your eyes snapped open in alarm, the stillness of the moment utterly shattered, _“there is an important matter that needs to be addressed. Please report to the meeting room at once.”_

“Whass’happ’nin’? you slurred as you groggily pushed yourself up on your elbows, ears ringing. There were many ways to wake up in Las Noches that no doubt would have been far worse, but Aizen’s smug tones loudly echoing around you was still not what you would have preferred.

“Intruders,” Grimmjow said shortly, yanking on his hakama and tying them with a swift pull. “Probably some pissed-off shinigami Aizen fucked over before he came here.”

You blinked, reaching up and rubbing your eyes as you watched Grimmjow stalk across the room, snatching up his jacket and roughly tugging it on. Well, that was news…not the intruders, which you could now feel more clearly as your mind reached out, automatically aware of a reiatsu that was distinctly un-hollow, distant and as smothered by the powerful sources nearby as it was. But the prospect of Aizen having disgruntled ex-colleagues chasing him had honestly never occurred to you. You weren’t foolish enough to actually buy Aizen’s claims of being or aiming to be a god, but if a man burned his bridges and managed to temporarily conquer an entirely different world from the one he knew, you sort of assumed that was the type of person you left alone. It was a disturbing notion that there were people out there willing to give chase. How powerful were the ones who wanted his head? 

But then…Aizen had taken something from them that didn’t belong to him. That girl, the one who could bring things back, to declare reality null and void…she must have friends who would be willing to risk any dimension to bring her back. Such a terrifying power in such vulnerable hands was definitely an interesting combination, and you had no doubt if the position was reversed and she instead had been stolen from Las Noches, then whoever took her would be facing the wrath of Hueco Mundo. And that shinigami, the one you’d heard rumours about ever since Ulquiorra and Yammy’s first journey to the world of the living, he seemed to appear everywhere he had no business being. If he had come for the girl, even with all that power of his own, then what did that say about what she meant to him?

Troubled by both the news of invaders and your own lack of knowledge of the shinigami, you tugged the sheet closer to your body and began to get dressed too, managing to locate your underwear on the floor and slipped them on. You could only be thankful Grimmjow hadn’t torn them into shreds in his enthusiasm the night before.

“It’s Espada-only, idiot girl.” Grimmjow snapped at you and you blushed, pausing midway through pulling on your shirt. “Whatever. I’m going.”

You wouldn’t make the same mistake as last time (though Grimmjow’s “punishment” had been an excuse to get laid and you both knew it), he was a fickle creature at times and even though he’d made you feel incredible, you had no doubt his temper might overrule his libido next time he decided you’d transgressed an order. You followed Grimmjow out of his quarters, not particularly worried anybody might be lurking around, scowling at his back as he headed towards the throne room, where the meeting room lay just beyond.

“Am I meant to stay here until you get back?” you asked, just a hint of insolence in your tone. 

Hey, he might have been leagues stronger than you, but you weren’t totally spineless. Plus his dismissal of you made you want to scratch at him through whatever method you could.

He tilted his head back and you caught a glimpse of his sharp canines as he shot you a look, his half-lidded eyes pinning you where you stood and you tensed for a moment. After a second passed, he looked away as if he were suddenly utterly bored of you and you settled again.

“I don’t care what you do. Just keep out of the way.”

And with that, he was gone.

You watched him blur out of sight, biting down on your lip as you tried to reign in your frustration and strung pride. You had no idea what had set off his bad mood – probably being woken as suddenly and forcefully as he had been – but you didn’t appreciate him taking it out on you. You supposed that was your lot, as a fraccion, to be fucked or scolded or whatever your master felt like doing in that particular moment. There were whispers from the labs that Szayel sometimes _ate_ pieces of his fraccion and you knew for a fact that Barragan’s all made a big point of pleasing the cantankerous old man. One legend even said he was the ruler of Las Noches before Aizen had soundly booted him off his throne.

Well, to hell with it. If Grimmjow didn’t care what you did, you’d do as you pleased. All the Espada, Aizen and his henchmen would be busy discussing the intruders (and probably gone a while – goodness knew that man loved to talk), so you could afford to relax for a little while. Whatever Grimmjow had done to Aguja would probably be enough incentive for other strays to leave you alone.

As you glanced down at yourself, though, there was something else you needed to do first. Something important, which you felt much better about doing now that your temperamental superior would be absent long enough for you to finish in peace.

You really needed a bath.

~

Unbeknownst to Grimmjow or you, however, you were being watched by a sharp pair of eyes, from far away in the white, spacious palace. The figure in question rose from his chair, a disconcerting smile plastered, as always, on his face.

Gin Ichimaru stretched out his back, turning off the screen with flick of his fingers before heading out of the room, sensing Tousen had already set off to report to Aizen’s side. Such a blind follower- quite literally.

Gin’s smile stretched further at his own joke as he glided down the hallway, taking his time with and using the quiet walk to properly mentally file away the footage he’d just seen. 

Yes. It looked like everything was falling into place quite nicely, from what he’d just seen. He had expected progress might have its peaks and troughs, of course, but all in all he was feeling rather pleased at the overall result.

Still…it wouldn’t hurt to give things a little nudge, now would it?

Well. It wouldn’t hurt _him_ , anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Oh, just as an only somewhat relevant sidenote, I'm also planning another Bleach oneshot, starring Grimmjow/Human!Reader, so stay tuned. :D)


	4. Divide

Grimmjow Jaegerjaques was rarely in a position to say _I-told-you so._ His prey tended not to live that long to hear it, and his superiors didn’t like to listen to soldiers.

Hadn’t he been saying that the shinigami needed to be dealt with all along? To see that fucking redheaded asshole charging through the desert as though he had every right to be here made Grimmjow enraged beyond all reason. The boy had been underestimated too many times now – Grimmjow knew full well that he’d be at the gates of Las Noches soon enough, and then what?

But when he went to go finish him off once and for all…

“Tch.”

Grimmjow’s hand curled into a fist and he slammed it into the nearest wall, a crater appearing beneath his hand, splintering the marble. For all his power, Aizen was content to lounge around drinking fucking tea and wait for his enemy to practically deliver itself to his doorstep. It had taken every ounce of Grimmjow self-control not to grab his sword and take a swing at the arrogant bastard’s neck, for forcing him to the ground in front of the rest of the Espada. Like he was some fucking peon.

His reiatsu blazed dangerously, but he forced himself to tamp it down. As much as it wounded his pride to do it, Grimmjow was aware that for now, he’d have to wait. Wait for Kurosaki to haul ass to the palace so Grimmjow could finally finish off that cockroach – and this time, he’d make sure he didn’t come back again. He didn’t give a damn about the other two shown at the meeting, they weren’t the ones who had stood up to him.

He didn’t hear footsteps, but he didn’t need to – his senses picked up the prickle of reiatsu without a problem.

“What do you want?” he growled in Gin’s direction.

“Hm? Nothin in particular’,” Gin replied casually, which didn’t fool Grimmjow for a minute. “Just passin’ by. But it was interestin’ news Aizen had fer us though, wouldn’t ya say?”

Grimmjow grunted, watching Gin out of the corner of his eye. It was like he’d been attracted by Grimmjow’s angry spike of reiatsu in the same way a shark will follow a trail of blood for miles until it finds the source of the scent. But Grimmjow had no intention of being a meal.

“It’s really too bad ya won’t get to enjoy yer new fraccion fer much longer though,” Gin added. “A real shame.”

Instantly, Grimmjow’s posture stiffened, switching from an insolent slouch to standing bolt upright, his body all hard lines and coiled tension. His fingers flexed like claws.

“What did you do?” his voice came out in a throaty rumble. Images of what might have happened to you with Grimmjow elsewhere flashed through his mind at rapid speeds.

“Me?” Gin feigned a look of surprise. “Nothin’ at all. But, well…yer old fraccion didn’t survive fer very long when you took ‘em to the human world, did they? It seems like they have bad luck when it comes to shinigami. But it can’t be helped… after all, winning side or losing side, not everyone will make it back from this war. Ah, but I’m sure ya knew that already. You’re a survivor, ain’t ya? You’ve fought ‘em more than once, you know what to do when it’s time to fight. So I’m sure you’ll be just fine when the time comes. Ja ne, Grimmjow.”

And with that, he left, vanishing down the hallway as though he’d never been there at all, presumably off to mindfuck someone else. The words chased around the Sexta’s mind, and he scowled as he turned and walked away in the other direction.

Why the hell was that sneaky bastard still so damn interested in what he did with you? He still didn’t know why you’d been handed over to him anyway – he didn’t think you were a spy or you’d have met the same fate as Luppi. Grimmjow may have been a brute, but he wasn’t an idiot, he knew there had to be an ulterior motive behind Gin pretending to give him a reward. Aizen hadn’t said a word on the subject, so either he approved or he didn’t know what Gin was planning and wanted to see for himself. If Grimmjow were a betting man, he’d put his money on the latter. So why would Gin threaten your life after going to all the trouble of picking you out in the first place?

 _Che._ Grimmjow’s eyes narrowed. 

Gin could make his veiled threats and you could wander off at random if that’s what you wanted. (Barring, of course, unless he’d exclusively told you not to.) He’d deal with you later, once the fighting was done, once Grimmjow had finally gotten his own gratification. After all, wasn’t that why he’d bothered to follow Aizen in the first place? It certainly wasn’t because he respected or like the man, it was for one thing and one thing only: Power. 

It was the world they lived in. Only the strongest survived, and Grimmjow wasn’t content with lingering in the middle of the pack. Maybe Aizen had gotten the best of him this time, but so what? Aizen was content to sit around on his ass and let the Hyogyoku do all the work for him. But he’d allowed Kurosaki to live, and now the boy was starting to pose a problem. In the end, Aizen might have a throne for now, but he sure as fuck wouldn’t be keeping it.

And despite Grimmjow’s earlier humiliation, that thought alone was enough to put a sinister smile on his face.

~

_Hours later…_

You were in the library when it happened.

The Espada’s reiatsu had been rising in steady measure since the Espada Meeting had been disbanded, though you hadn’t gone to seek out Grimmjow or the rest of them. You couldn’t remember Aizen holding a meeting for them before, so it was only logical to assume that whatever news he had to share wasn’t going to put any of them in a great mood.

So you were already feeling far more aware of the ten different reiatsu signatures more than usual when suddenly, one of them disappeared.

You sat up, dropping the book you’d been reading, barely noticing when it hit the floor with a thud. You searched through the threads of stray energy that lingered close by – it was actually kind of useful the Espada had reiatsu that was so much higher than anyone else (excluding Aizen, Gin and Tousen, of course), because it made them easy to find when they were agitated like this. But as you combed through the differing strands, you were coming up empty. Only nine remained, powerful enough that it was like several flames lighting up the distant darkness, flames you could feel the heat of even miles away.

And one of them was gone.

You staggered out of the library. It couldn’t be…

No, you’d know if it was Grimmjow. His reiatsu was too familiar to you – he was too familiar – for you to simply not realise it was him who’d died. But your heart was beating faster than it should have been, so you took off, running back the way you’d wandered. It was a bit of a journey to get back to Grimmjow’s quarters from here, but-

"Oh, in a hurry, are ya?"

You skidded to a halt.

You knew that voice all too well.

Gin was standing across the hall from you, his hands hidden in his sleeves. It looked like he’d just come out of one of the control rooms – the corridor behind him lead that way. Maybe he was trying to get the enemy lost for his own amusement, it seemed like the sort of thing he’d do.

“Looks like you’ve been having a good time since I last saw you.” He smirked pointedly, and though his eyes were closed, you were sure he was well aware of the bitemarks Grimmjow had left on you. You could feel heat crawling up your neck at the scrutiny.

"I suppose so," you replied, flatly.

"Tell me..." Gin said, moving closer to you, with the sinewy grace of a snake. "What exactly did happen the other day, with those arrancar endin’ up dead? Tousen was pretty surprised when he found a hall full of bodies. So messy."

You swallowed, not really liking the way this odd conversation was going, but you couldn't very well just refuse to answer him. 

"Some arrancar tried to attack me. I fought back," you said, trying to sound brisk and matter-of-fact, "I suppose I used more reiatsu than planned when fending them off, because Grimmjow showed up and...intervened."

Turned it into a bloodbath is more accurate...from the moment Grimmjow appeared, the tides immediately turned. Admittedly, at the time, it was hard to say if it was back-up arriving or merely a bigger predator showing up to safeguard its meal. You didn't much like being thought of as prey (arrancar who don't fight tend not to last very long), but compared to Grimmjow, you knew you were. Still, regardless of how irritated you were with his mercurial treatment of you, you weren't going to blurt out what happened to Gin. However, he seemed satisfied with the sparse details you'd given him, if the widening of his perpetual smile was anything to go by.

"Lucky yer a fraccion now, hm?" he commented lightly. Gin tilted his head in thought. "Guess even Las Noches ain't gonna be too safe soon, either."

The question of when Las Noches had been ever safe went unasked, as his remark did ignite a spark of curiosity. At least you knew that Grimmjow wasn’t the one who had fallen, or Gin wouldn’t be talking about him in present tense.

"What do you mean?" you asked.

"Didn't Grimmjow tell you?" Gin hummed, despite both of you knowing full well he'd been at the Espada meeting the entire time. "Not a very informative boss, is he?" But surely you know there are enemies here in Las Noches. They want Inoue-chan back, y'see."

 _You condescending prick,_ you inwardly seethed. What other reason would they have to swarm the realm of their sworn enemies?

"And you think the rest of us are going to die too?" you asked instead, digging your fingernails into your palms in an effort to keep from snapping at him.

"Hm, I wonder," Gin said airily, as though he'd never brought up the subject in the first place. "Either way, they've made it. So I guess now we’ll just have to wait’n see how powerful they really are. It was pretty foolish of ‘em to come here with such a small lil group, but oh well. Maybe some friends will come too. Wouldn’t that be interestin’?"

Though you refused to indulge him, inwardly you couldn't help but concede that Gin had a point. The last time a shinigami had set foot here, he had shaken Hueco Mundo to its core. Just strode in and claimed Las Noches for his own, and nobody had the power to stop him. Aizen wouldn't have called a meeting to tell the Espada of intruders if he wasn't hoping to gain something from their arrival - if he wanted them dead, he could have simply gone out to where they were and snuffed them out himself. So the question was, why was he making everyone play the waiting game?

"…Why are you telling me this?" you eventually asked, casting Gin a suspicious frown. "Isn't this privileged information?"

"Everybody'll know soon enough anyway," Gin shrugged, unphased.

That didn't really answer your question, but you knew better than to push Gin for a straight answer. Instead you gave a stiff nod and turned to leave, hating the way all this made you feel, like an impotent chess piece, only good for falling on the enemy's blade and dying for a man you felt nothing but antipathy for. But what choice did you have? You were only a foot soldier in a powerful, frightening army. All you could really do was march forward.

As you turned to leave, however, Gin's voice reached your ears, a speculative hum failing to conceal the razor's edge beneath.

"I'll be seein’ ya. Or maybe not. Who knows who's gonna come back? ...Fraccion-chan."

You whipped around, heart pounding in your chest. But when you looked back, Gin was already gone.

You hated it when he did that.

~

It didn’t take too long to get to Grimmjow’s after that – nobody else was lurking around in the hallways, which only served to put you make you even more ill at ease. The familiar tingle of Grimmjow’s reiatsu met you and you burst through the door to his room, to see him pacing the room like a caged animal. You paused just inside in the doorway.

“Is it true?” you said, breathless from running. “Aaroniero…is he really dead?”

It wasn’t that you felt any kind of connection towards the Ninth Espada. Far from it, since you’d barely ever seen him out of his dark little hideaway, much less spoken to him, but the point was, he was an Espada. The ten elite soldiers chosen by Aizen…and one had fallen. For the first time, you really began to feel afraid. And there was Gin’s portent as well – what if more shinigami decided to show up? Would they overthrow Aizen and make sure there were no survivors? You didn’t know, and that was the worst thing of all.

“They’re finally here,” Grimmjow said, almost as if he hadn’t heard you. His eyes were alight with excitement, fingers flexing like claws. “I was getting sick of waitin’. I can finally finish what I started and kill that damn shinigami.”

You stared at him incredulously. 

Was he _serious?_

And you were worried for a second when you thought he’d gone and done something stupid. He looked almost delighted, in a maniacal, bloodlust-crazy kind of way.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” you blurted out. “Doesn’t this bother you at all?”

Grimmjow grunted and flicked his eyes towards you, as if only just noticing your arrival. Anger pulsed in your body at the dismissive glance, like you were no more than a serving maid. He growled slightly in warning at your voice.

“You heard me, woman. It’s about damn time the enemy showed up. Now they’ve got nowhere to run.”

Your fists clenched.

"Why the hell is defeating Kurosaki so goddamn important to you?!" you shouted at him. “Is that really what matters right now? Some random shinigami you fought twice? People are going to die, Espada or not! Aaroniero is dead and soon there’ll be more reinforcements coming for us and fuck knows what’ll happen after that! What does beating him even mean in the long run if we’re just gonna get killed by someone else?!”

A hand clamped around your throat and you were shoved against the wall so fast you barely even saw him move.

“Who the _fuck_ d’you think you’re talking to? Huh?!” he snarled at you, pinning you to the wall with frightening ease. “Think you can just mouth off to me whenever you want, do you? I don’t give a fuck about what happens to the rest of those dumbasses. I knew I shoulda killed Kurosaki right away, but no, everybody has to go and interrupt me. This time, nobody gets in my way. I’ll destroy him, and anybody else who looks down on me!”

His grip tightened and you let out a strained wheeze, body growing slack due to limited air.

“Grimmjow…”

“Maybe they’ll drag Aizen back to whatever shithole he came from. Be doing me a favour,” he sneered, easing his hold just a bit. “I’m the _King_ , and the more people standing in my way that die now, the better. You scared, little girl? Too fuckin’ bad. I’m takin’ what’s mine, and there ain’t room for weaklings in my kingdom.”

His words were confident, you had no doubt he believed every word. He had an image of himself, high above the fallen arrancar, the supreme warrior amongst a race of fighters. Yet, the image he conjured, it was so…lonely.

“Then…what?” you managed to say, even with the pressure on your trachea.

He scowled and begrudgingly let you go, though he didn’t get out of your immediate personal space.

“What?” he snapped.

“You want to be King…then what?” you said, backing away and rubbing your neck. Tears stung at your eyes, but you refused to let them overcome you. “If everyone dies, then what’s the point? Sure, you’ll be the new ruler – because nobody else is there to do it.”

You could feel emotion welling up in your chest, sudden and violent, your reiatsu pulsing erratically around you. Grimmjow’s temper might have frightened you, but in that moment, your own anger surpassed your fear.

“You’ll be in charge of a fucking wasteland. No followers, no company…you’ll be king of _nothing!_ ”

You shouted the last word, shredding your throat on it, and before he could get his hands on you, you vanished from Grimmjow’s quarters.

 _“Woman!!”_ you heard him roar in rage, but you didn’t stop, didn’t even pause to see if he was behind you – you simply ran.

You should have known better. It made no sense that you’d secretly hoped it would be different because the two of you had slept together, hoping the physical act would guarantee some sort of…connection. But no. No, he was just as selfish and arrogant as he always had been and you were a fool to want or think otherwise. It wasn’t even that he thought there was a possibility that you’d be killed during battle, he expected it. He thought nothing more of you than he did his old fraccion and at least they hadn’t been naked in front of him.

Well, let him rage. Let him go out and get himself killed if that’s what he really wanted. He didn’t need you, and you were done hanging around where you weren’t wanted. Maybe this was why you’d been given to Grimmjow – a sadistic game to see how long you’d last. Gin was probably taking bets on it for all you knew. Apparently it was all people like you were good for – dying horrifically.

You walked through the eerily quiet hallways, headed no direction in particular, wanting to wrap your arms around yourself. Grimmjow hadn’t followed you, but then you didn’t really think that he would – it was beneath his pride to go chasing after a lowly subordinate, especially after he’d made it clear how little you mattered – how anyone mattered – to him. No doubt he’d just smash a few walls and curse you out before preparing himself for the upcoming battle. You may not have been his fraccion for very long, but you had a decent measure of his personality well enough.

Suddenly, a veritable _eruption_ of reiatsu caught your attention, nearly knocking you off your feet. Your nerves tingled as you located the sources of so much raw power, when a tremour shook the hallway. Ulquiorra. You frowned – he was fighting? He didn’t seem like the type who’d just charge ahead and dispatch the enemy…

Then, just as suddenly, the reiatsu vanished. Both forces stopped flaring, though one had merely stablised back to its default state. The other, however, had been snuffed out altogether, a defiant flame ground into nothing. You let out an involuntary gasp when you realised exactly what that meant.

Kurosaki Ichigo was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies there wasn't any smut this chapter, but the plot needed to go first. I promise there will be some more sex in the future, but first some angst. (And if you're really thirsty for a good old fashioned dicking, check out my oneshot, "Quid Quo Pro" for all your Grimmjow needs. #ShamelessPlug)
> 
> Til next time!


	5. What matters most

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I am so sorry this chapter has taken so long - work has been really tough for me at the moment and I've recently fallen into a new fandom, which has diverted my attention away from Bleach. But rest assured, this fic is still my pet project and the next chapter should contain some more exciting stuff. :D
> 
> Enjoy!

Footsteps.

A figure stalked down the hallway, eyes narrowed. The corridors of Las Noches were eerily still and silent and any noise seemed to echo for miles, like a gigantic marble tomb Kind of fitting, if you stopped and thought about it. Reiatsu was thick and heavy in the air, like a gathering storm. There may have been only five intruders that most of the arrancar would likely never even see, let alone fight, but it was simply instinct. Wander into a predator's territory and the urge to fight the intruder will dominate. And it wasn't as if they had the option of running away - there weren't many places outside Las Noches to go. Plus, the notion of five relatively weak enemies actually managing to not only break into their fortress but kill an Espada, was enough to generate quite a buzz. Most didn't personally give a shit about Aaeroniero - they just wanted the glory of taking his maker down.

That said, Grimmjow himself wasn't buzzed. Just pissed off.

This was different from before, however. His ire had cooled, hardened into something much more calculating and sinister than his usual rages. A great transgression had occurred and it would be a chilly day in hell before Grimmjow simply lay back and accepted it.

Just who did Ulquiorra think he was, stealing someone else's prey? Prey that Ulquiorra should have killed the first time he crossed paths with it. Not ending Kurosaki right then and there meant that Ulquiorra had relinquished any claim he had to that particular kill. He didn't get to just sneak in and do it when Grimmjow had called it months ago. No fucking way.

And then, there was you.

_You'll be King of NOTHING!_

The epithet repeated in his mind like the tolling of a bell, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. In truth, his ambition of ruling Hueco Mundo wasn't something he'd exactly sat down and thought over the logistics of, it was just what he'd decided. The realm of Hollows had no business being run by a Shinigami with a god complex and Aizen had way overstayed his welcome. (Not that he ever really had been in the first place.) The other five Espada above him in Aizen's ranking weren't up for the task - Starrk was too lazy, Barragan had wasted his stint, Halibel only wanted to protect her friends, Ulquiorra was too apathetic and Nnoitra just wanted to die in a glorious battle. So, who better to rule than Grimmjow?

But that would have to wait. Firstly, he needed to kill Kurosaki and stop any other invading Shinigami from destroying Las Noches – though he may not have liked being at Aizen’s command, Grimmjow could concede the palace was too good to waste, especially as Barragan’s former territory was a fucking ruin these days. Once the Shinigami bastards were gone, he was free to do what he wanted with Hueco Mundo.

And while he was at it, he’d make sure to teach a certain fraccion a lesson about mouthing off to their direct superiors and then storming off. His eyes narrowed at the mental image of you fleeing from his quarters like a bat out of hell. Oh, you were going to be a sorry little brat by the time he was finished with you. Maybe he’d be lenient if you begged nicely enough. He wouldn’t kill you, though – perish the thought. Grimmjow may have been loath to admit that there was a connection between you, but he had already decided that he didn’t want you dead. In these endless desert nights, even a King might grow bored and you had already proved to be quite a distraction. Not to mention you had a certain amount of pluck that was refreshing – it’d benefit him to have someone with half a goddamn brain around, even if you were prone to making stupid decisions occasionally.

But before any of that could happen, first thing’s first.

Nonchalantly, he raised a fist, took aim and punched, knuckles tearing through the stone as if it were no thicker than paper. He heard startled shrieks from within, over the sound of falling rock and debris filling the air.

“Yo,” Grimmjow sneered, stepping into the room. 

Three terrified pairs of eyes stared back at him, though there was only one that Grimmjow had any interest in.

“Looks like you’re having a _blast_ ,” he continued, hands shoved deep in his pockets, “Sneaking in here while Ulquiorra’s away.”

The woman stared at him with huge, wounded eyes, one nearly swollen shut with bruising, blood shining in the split in her lip. Anger stirred in the pit of Grimmjow’s stomach (what there was of it, at least).

He may have had many unsavoury personality traits – recklessness, arrogance, bloodlust, insubordination, to name a few. However, he did have some standards – whaling on a helpless opponent who couldn’t fight back happened to be one of them. Where was the pride in such a cheap win? Well, these sluts wouldn’t know anything about that, the way that crawled and panted after Aizen, like he’d give either of them the time of day. His disgust for them only intensified as he took in this pitiful display.

Besides, he owed that girl a debt.

His fingers flexed as he approached the two arrancar girls, who probably did not feel quite so big and scary now that they were facing someone with real power. He smirked.

He could have a blast, himself…

~

 

Perhaps you had been naïve – not a great trait for an arrancar to have.

But the intruders…they seemed to be dying like flies. It appeared that the Espada had grown impatient at such a brazen infestation taking place right under their noses and sought to deal with it themselves. Aaroniero was dead, yes, but you couldn’t even sense the reiatsu of whoever had been fighting him anymore – clearly, he’d simply gotten too cocky and given his opponent an opening, but the effort it must have required to take down an Espada had nearly killed them anyway. Now they lay dying like an insect. Pitiful. And now Kurosaki was dead too – Ulquiorra had seen to that.

Grimmjow would be _furious._

The thought made your stomach lurch. You’d really shot yourself in the foot by panicking so much about the intruders and you’d mouthed off at your boss. Not that the arrogant ass didn’t deserve to get yelled at, but just because you wanted to certainly didn’t mean that you should – he’d demonstrated more than once he could crush you without a thought. Why oh why did you think disrespecting him was a good idea?

Despite your lengthy absence, he still hadn’t come looking for you, but, you realised with a sinking feeling, perhaps that’s because he didn’t need to. Sooner or later, you’d have no choice but to return. After all, you had nowhere else to go and in a place like Las Noches, it was inevitable that someone bigger and nastier than you would find you. Plus, it wasn’t like you could just quit being Grimmjow’s fraccion – you may have been a greenhorn at it, but there were invisible ties binding you to the Espada, even if you didn’t fully understand them. From the moment Gin had shoved you at him in the throne room and Grimmjow had chosen to accept you rather than blast your head off, something had taken root. It seemed crazy, since in the grand scheme of things, you had barely known him before and you hadn’t been his for more than a month, at most.

Yet, was it really so odd? Arrancar live rough, dangerous lives. The species may not age, but you never knew how long your lifespan would last. Only the powerful, like the Espada, had any guarantee about that and even then, they weren’t exactly ‘safe’ – just look at Luppi and the ex-Espada, banished for their inability to keep up to Aizen’s exacting standards. Plus, loneliness is something that transcends every species – human, Shinigami, arrancar…was it so surprising, then, that any alliances formed were done quickly and with ferocity? Even now, you were aware of Grimmjow’s reiatsu in a way you had never been with anyone’s. You didn’t know if it was normal for fraccion, if it had something to do with the sex or just heightened awareness on your part, but…

Almost as if you’d summoned it just by thinking it, a sudden feeling of foreboding swamp you and a hostile reiatsu drifted down the hall like a biting winter wind. Powerful, too – definitely not your garden variety asshole like Aguja…

“Master Nnoitra,” a familiar voice said and your breath caught in your throat, “Is it really all right to leave the intruder back there?”

A snort.

“Feh. That weakling’s practically dead already,” Nnoitra’s screechy voice retorted, the sound of the chain on the bizarre sword of his slinking across the floor as he walked. “He ain’t worth the fucking trouble.”

“I see,” Tesla said, his footsteps fast as he hurried to keep up with his master, “Then, where are we-?”

“Where else, you fucking idiot?” Nnoitra sneered, “Grimmjow revived that orange-haired Shinigami somehow. Bet you anything he used Pet-sama to do it while that pansy-ass Ulquiorra was away. I ain’t gonna stick around to kill some weakling when I got bigger fish to fry.”

You moved back, carefully, heart hammering in your chest as Nnoitra’s voice and footsteps began to grow fainter as he moved further away, Tesla dogging his heels as always. They didn’t seem to have noticed you were there, thank fuck for small miracles – clearly you were just as capable of masking your reiatsu as Grimmjow was when you had proper motivation.

You ran, using Sonido as best you could, desperately trying to keep track of Grimmjow’s reiatsu – with all the fighting and commotion going on, even his was difficult to keep hold of, like trying to find a particular colour in a giant ball of yarn.

But that wasn’t the worrying part. His reiatsu, when you finally got a firm grasp of his particular trail, was strong…but so was Kurosaki’s, matching him blow for blow. It didn’t feel like a Hollow and Shinigami at all, which was unsettling enough. Kurosaki’s felt like nothing you had ever experienced before, neither Shinigami or arrancar but something inbetween. It wasn’t right – it defied something fundamental, not unlike that human girl and her power to reject reality itself. It went against everything you thought you knew about the world, which was perhaps the scariest thing of all.

As you moved, fire in your lungs and muscles aching in protest, you noticed something that made your heart sink. Grimmjow’s reiatsu was…fading? Kurosaki’s still burned brightly, like a torch in the darkness, but Grimmjow’s didn’t feel right, like a flame being slowly starved of oxygen.

_“I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”_

Your eyes opened wide. Nnoitra!

You had to warn Grimmjow.

You took off, using Sonido and kicking away from the ground so hard you left a little impact crater beneath your heel. Charging up a cero in your palm, you blasted away a wall that was in the way, then another one after that, because suddenly, whatever punishment that lay in store for you for blasting holes in Aizen’s precious palace really didn’t seem all that important anymore. What mattered was getting to Grimmjow, to finding him before Nnoitra did. You might not have been able to do much against an Espada and you weren’t deluded enough to try and persuade yourself otherwise. But you could at least warn him of what was about to happen, because you had no doubt that one-eyed asshole would try fighting dirty – if the rumours about him were to be believed.

It wasn’t because you thought he was weak. It wasn’t even that you thought Nnoitra was strong. But you knew Grimmjow well enough to know that he’d have given everything in his battle with Kurosaki, anything to kill him once and for all – he had fought tooth and nail to win and yet, somehow, Kurosaki had done the unthinkable and surpassed him. If Nnoitra got to them before you did, it’d be a bloodbath.

What exactly you were planning to do when you got there, you didn’t know. Even if he could return in whatever condition he was in, you doubted you’d ever be able to persuade Grimmjow to do so. He was too stubborn. He’d already made it clear that your opinion didn’t matter all that much to him, it would wound his stupid pride to listen to a lowly fraccion.

But still, you went anyway. 

What did that say about your own stubbornness? Probably nothing good.

Another blast of a cero and a bright light seared your eyes blinding you for a moment. 

“Shit!”

You’d forgotten all about this part of Las Noches, there had never been any reason for you to enter here, though you’d heard sometimes people trained here when they wanted to challenge themselves in a different environment, even if the sunlight was artificial. You stood still for a moment, unable to see anything but vague, blurry shapes and you had to wait a few seconds before you could blink away the darkness. How did humans stand walking around when it was so bright all the time?!

Distantly, you could hear voices, including one you recognised.

“I…I’ll never go down…to someone like you!”

Grimmjow.

You flash-stepped towards the voices, your heart pounding hard in your throat. It wasn’t difficult to find where Grimmjow, Kurosaki and the human girl were, all you had to do was follow the trail of broken things and the crackling of energy in the air.

When you saw him from the top of a dune, your breath halted.

His resurreccion was gone – he was back to his usual form, but the injuries he’d sustain in battle were obvious even from your vantage point. He was still standing despite his wounds, glaring at Kurosaki with such a look of defiant rage that it nearly made you laugh to see it, if only because even if his body had been pushed past its limit, his spirit remained as unbroken as ever.

“Grimmjow…I’ll fight you whenever you want,” the orange-haired boy was saying, his sword lying a few feet away. “But you have to stop.”

But…the Shinigami was trying to talk him down? What an idiot.

“Grimmjow!” you shouted, running down the slope of the dune, kicking up plumes of sand with your heels, refusing to fall even as the ground beneath you seemed to crumble with each step.

The look on both Grimmjow and Kurosaki’s faces were, admittedly, priceless. Clearly, they hadn’t expected someone to just appear out of nowhere, yelling like a madwoman and charging towards them, but then, a lot of unexpected things seemed to be happening as of late. The wind whipped at your hair and clothing, sand stinging your eyes.

“Who-?” Kurosaki said, his brow furrowing.

His confusion made sense – as far as the Shinigami knew, all of Grimmjow’s fraccion had been killed during his first raid of Karakura town. It was obvious by your reiatsu you weren’t a fellow Espada, but the wild look in your eyes as you raced towards them made your allegiance clear. But it wasn’t his reaction you were interested in…

“You…” Grimmjow breathed and it was impossible to discern what the look he was pinning you with was at that moment – but if you weren’t already running towards him, you likely would have frozen stock-still at that piercing blue gaze.

“Grimmjow, please, you have to listen to me!” you blurted out, which was probably a ridiculous thing to say – he didn’t have to do anything you told him, but you were on a roll today when it came to impulsive things. “He’s coming to-!”

Grimmjow’s eyes shot wide.

The woman screamed.

Something whistled through the air, striking you in the back, like you’d just been rammed by a bull. At first you didn’t feel the pain, just the air being forcibly slammed from your body, but a moment later, it came. Blinding, white-hot pain that scorched from your shoulder to your hip and your mouth fell open in a soundless cry of agony. Hot blood ran down your back and you felt something – probably a rib - crack. You heard the jingle of a chain and an unpleasantly familiar voice behind you.

“Damn, missed him. Fuckin’ bitch got in my way.”

You saw Grimmjow’s mouth yelling your name, but you couldn’t hear anything. The world had gone silent except for a high-pitched buzzing in your ears. You stretched a hand out, trying to reach him, movements slow and sluggish as if you were deep underwater. Grimmjow lifted a hand…

…And the bright, sun-filled world

went

_dark…_


	6. Moonlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> I am so, so sorry this chapter has taken so long. I meant to get it done last month, but October always ends up rather busy for me, especially with my birthday and Halloween going by. But luckily I found my old notebook that had half of the chapter already written and was able to go from there.
> 
> Extra shout-out to whoever the anon was who messaged me about this. (That's when I _know_ people really want an update, when I actually get a message on Tumblr. XD But it did motivate me to finish, so thank you!  <3)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

When you woke, everything felt...strange. As though gravity itself had multiplied, making even lifting your head an exhausting task. Images of what had happened seemingly seconds ago flashed through your head - Kurosaki, Grimmjow, running across the sand. Nnoitra... A small groan left your throat.

"You're finally awake," a very familiar voice rumbled from only inches away.

You raised your head slowly.

Electric blue eyes met yours, Grimmjow's expression set in a peculiar, almost (for him) neutral frown. A shiver ran down your back - it was disturbing seeing him being still, especially when you didn't know why.

"Grimmjow?" you said, voice coming out slightly slurred. "What's - where's Nnoitra and Kurosaki? And Inoue?"

"Nnoitra's dead," Grimmjow bluntly answered. "Kurosaki's gone. Trying to get the woman back. The place is crawling with fucking Shinigami right now - Syazel and Zommari are dead too."

You shifted to sit up further, getting a look at your surroundings - you didn't even recognise where you were. It was still undoubtedly Hueco Mundo, but that didn’t mean much considering how vast the desert was. Grimmjow wrapped an arm around your waist, holding you still.

"You're not going anywhere," he scowled at you, which was almost a relief - at least you knew what he was thinking. "You're lucky that fucking asshole didn't slice your damn spine in half."

You swallowed.

"What happened?" you asked. "All I remember is blacking out, why am I-?"

"The woman," he sighed, moving slightly so that he was sitting up straighter. "She healed you while I was keeping Nnoitra busy."

You frowned as you recalled Grimmjow's state when you'd reached him, the panic you felt when his reiatsu momentarily disappeared. He may have been strong, but he had been in no fit state to do much of anything, let alone fight another, higher-ranking Espada.

"But, how are you...?"

He scoffed, suddenly avoiding your eye. You raised your eyebrows in response - that was a new one from him. Usually he was the one trying to make you look at him.

"Feel that reiatsu around right now? How fucked up it is?"

You nodded, as although your senses were sluggish, for god knows how long you'd been sitting there, there was no missing the strange, oppressive energy in the air around you.

"It's Ulquiorra's."

Your head shot up to stare at him.

"What?!"

You knew Ulquiorra's reiatsu, you'd seen him roaming Las Noches often enough, looking perpetually miserable. You’d mostly stayed out of his way, but when it came to the Espada, you tended to notice them whether you particularly wanted to or not. This energy that hung over you felt like nothing else you'd ever experienced, and the fact it had changed so drastically meant something was very, very wrong.

"What's happening?" you almost whispered.

Grimmjow grunted.

“When Nnoitra attacked, I thought you were dead. You looked it. So, I went to gut that asshole like a pig and…I don’t know. It was weird. But something came back – I thought I’d used up all my power trying to kill Kurosaki, but apparently not.”

“But you’d already released your Resurreccion…you can’t do that twice, can you?”

“Tch. Hell if I know,” Grimmjow snorted, scowling into the distance. “Ulquiorra released to fight Kurosaki. Guess everybody wants to kill that little asshole. But Ulquiorra…his reiatsu ain’t normal. If I didn’t know any better…”

Cerulean eyes narrowed.

“I’d say this fucked-up reiatsu means he’s in another form. His true one.”

You said nothing for a moment, stunned speechless by this observation. What Grimmjow said made sense, but it was so utterly bizarre that it was difficult to take in. Every arrancar had a released form, but a second one?

“How did he do it?” you wondered out loud. “I guess Aizen didn’t know, but how the hell Ulquiorra managed to keep a secret like that from him is anybody’s guess.”

“He would’ve taken that asshole with him to fight the rest of the Shinigami if he knew that,” Grimmjow snorted, but you could tell his mind was on something else.

“So, what now?” you prompted him.

“Tch. What else? I’m gonna find out how the fuck he did it,” Grimmjow growled. “If that kiss-ass can get a second form it can’t be that fucking difficult.”

“No, I mean, _us_ ,” you said, jabbing him in the chest with your finger. “What about the Shinigami?”

“They ain’t interested in us.” Grimmjow shrugged. “They won’t come looking for two arrancar who don’t give a shit about Aizen and whatever his big scheme is.”

Well, that was a relief. You had admittedly sort of assumed that the Shinigami would take over Las Noches (or maybe even the entirety of Hueco Mundo if they were feeling ambitious) if Aizen was defeated, just the way he had taken it before. However, if they intended to leave as soon as any of his staunch followers were defeated, then maybe you and Grimmjow would get out of this unscathed… relatively speaking, anyway. Getting almost cleaved in half by Nnoitra wasn’t an experience you’d be forgetting in a hurry, even if all the damage had been reversed by Orihime Inoue. And as for Grimmjow…well, you doubted he’d be getting over the indignity of losing to Kurosaki Ichigo anytime soon.

“There’s something I don’t understand, though,” you said, after a short silence. “You were winning against Kurosaki before, I could feel it. So what changed?”

Grimmjow growled at you in warning, showing just a hint of teeth, but you merely watched him, waiting it out. What was he doing to do, kill you? You didn’t think so.

“Fuck if I know,” he said eventually, his tone surly. “Probably ‘cause of the woman.”

“Inoue?”

_What does she have to do with it?_

“Get a woman involved and even fucking Kurosaki suddenly turns into some kinda badass,” Grimmjow scoffed.

Then, suddenly, he turned to stare at you, shock evidence across his features. The reaction was so unexpected that you jolted a bit, taken aback by that piercing stare. He slowly sat up, though his arm wrapped around you kept you firmly anchored on his lap.

“Um, Grimmjow?” you asked, a trifle nervously, watching him in confusion. What was with that face?

 _“You,”_ Grimmjow said, examining your face as if really seeing you for the first time, “Fuck. I get it now.”

“Get _what?”_

“The Espada are dying like flies,” Grimmjow said, “Betcha Aizen’s bitten off way more than he could chew, rebelling against Soul Society. So somebody was probably banking on that. If Aizen doesn’t come back, then what happens to Hueco Mundo?”

The image of a wide, facetious smile flickered in your mind’s eye. Someone who would know what their Soul Society enemies were like. Someone Aizen trusted. Someone who made plans, played his games with people and always had something up his sleeves…

“You think that Gin was actually…planning for all this?” you asked, a pensive frown furrowing your brows.

“Yeah. He must’ve known how strong the Shinigami are, he used to be one,” Grimmjow confirmed, “Kurosaki wanted to protect that woman. That’s how he managed to not get his ass kicked like before.”

You tried not to smirk at his tone.

“So when Nnoitra, that fucking asshole, cut you down…I dunno, but some of my reiatsu came back. Not enough to rip his head off, but I got you out. I wanted to go back and finish that cocksucker, split his skull, rip him apart…but not enough of my damn reiatsu returned, just enough of it, like an emergency reserve or some shit. So some Shinigami got to kill him. Now Ulquiorra’s probably gonna die too. Someone has to take over this place.”

“So…Gin wanted you to find out how to achieve a second Resurreccion? Is that what you’re thinking?” you asked, skeptically. 

This was Gin you were talking about, after all. Though, if anybody would know about Ulquiorra having a secret form who wouldn’t tell Aizen about it, then Gin was your prime (possibly only) suspect. The thought that he had such information stashed away made a wry smile pull at your lips – you may not have trusted Gin, but imagining him doing something like that right under Aizen’s nose and brazenly getting away with it was pretty funny.

“Yeah. So he gave me you,” Grimmjow said, his fingers squeezing your hips, firm and possessive. “Guess he picked out you specifically.”

“Me? Why am I-?”

Grimmjow snorted.

“Tch. Looks like you need more than just wanting to be stronger. Need something to set it off.”

“…He thought I’d help you?” you said. “But I’m just a foot soldier, aren’t I? Why would a normal, non-Espada arrancar make such a diff-?”

Grimmjow leant forwards, cutting you off mid-sentence, his nose burying into your hair, teeth scraping the side of your throat. He breathed in your scent, his voice a rumble in your ear. Something in your chest clenched and heat rose to your face.

“Wouldn’t be much of a king if I can’t protect what’s mine, would I?”

A shiver ran down your back at that, right from the crown of your skull to your tailbone. Whatever reply to that you were about to make was lost as Grimmjow tilted your chin up to him, kissing you roughly. He leaned back so he was almost lying down, with you on top of him, chest crushing against his. You sank into him, moaning into his mouth. He growled, pleased, his hands wandering eagerly up and down your body.

"Speakin' of which..."

Suddenly, his hand cracked down on your ass, hard. You let out a thoroughly undignified yelp and shot him a bewildered glare.

"OW! What was that for?!" you yelled at him.

"For running off!" he retorted angrily, grabbing your hips and holding you still when you tried to wriggle off him in an indignant huff. “You don’t get to just yell shit at me and then fucking disappear, woman! Don’t forget who you belong to.”

_You’ll be King of NOTHING!_

So he _had_ remembered your little outburst…

“I said that because you were acting like you didn’t give a damn whether I lived or died!” you retorted, the earlier hurt of his carelessness rearing its head. “All you could talk about was how you couldn’t wait for the Shinigami to come in and start the slaughter and how it was just too damn bad if the weaklings died. How did you think I was going to react?”

“Tch. Idiot,” he growled, before his hand slid around the back of your neck and pull you down, his lips meeting yours, hot, insistent. “You think I’d keep you around if I didn’t give a fuck? Think I’d tear anybody apart who messed with you? Huh?”

His teeth sank into the juncture between neck and shoulder, just like how he had when you’d first been made his fraccion, but there was something that was almost…comforting about it now, the prickle of pain mixed with surprising pleasure. Especially when he ran his tongue across the bitemarks, sucking at your skin, tending to the punctures. You huffed against him, wriggling despite yourself. 

“Grimmjow…” you panted. “Should we really be doing this out in the open?”

He shrugged, totally uncaring.

“Like I said, the Shinigami won’t come looking for us. We’ve got time to kill before they fuck off outta here,” he grumbled, before his gaze turned distinctly lascivious and his hand slid down your back, crudely squeezing your ass and making you yelp. “B’sides…we’ve got unfinished business, _kitten._ ”

You forgot, temporarily, what a smooth bastard Grimmjow was when he wanted to be, growling at you like that in his deep, smooth voice. And he could do what he pleased with you now – there was nobody around to interrupt. 

You let out a startled noise as he suddenly moved, switching positions so you were pinned underneath him, your back meeting marble. Cerulean eyes bored into your own as he loomed over you, his grin wicked and sharp. Without saying a word, he shifted back, dragging his hands down your thighs, tugging at your hakama. 

“Grimmjow!” you protested as he yanked the offending fabric unceremoniously, exposing your thighs and underwear beneath the everlasting moonlight. He hooked a finger in your underwear and casually pulled those down too, his irises dilating as inch by inch of you became exposed to his greedy, hungry gaze. Heat flooded your cheeks and you squirmed, feeling more than just a little exposed.

“Heh. You’re fucking cute when you blush,” he growled, dragging his tongue up your inner thigh which sent a shiver up your body. “Just hold still, baby.”

Not that you really wanted to go anywhere else, to be honest, but all form of wry retort dried on your lips as he dragged his tongue in a hot, firm stroke up your slit, making you shudder. Oh god. A whine left your throat, which only seemed to encourage him more. He wanted to have you squealing and screaming his name, letting everybody know you were his.

One hand pinned your hips down as you squirmed under him, tongue lapping at the sensitive inner folds of your slick warmth, and he used his free hand to massage your clit, driving a ragged cry from your mouth, hands thrown above your head as he circled you with his tongue, teased with his calloused fingers. Your feet dug uselessly into the ground, hakama and underwear tangled around your knees.

“You like that, baby?” he leered up at you, with a smug grin that made you want to roll your eyes – he knew damn well you’re loving every minute of it. 

Before you could muster up a suitably scathing retort, he snickered and got back to work, his mask fragment pressing into your thigh as he used his tongue to send you reeling, growling in satisfaction at your taste. He’d enjoyed it when he was licking it off his fingers, but this was even better, especially the way you writhed and gasped beneath him.

“Fuck…Grimmjow…” you panted, barely able to draw in enough air, your chest rising and falling rapidly. “Nngh…”

He sucked at your clit, enjoying the way your fingers sank into his hair and tugged, sending tiny prickles across his scalp down his back. It didn’t hurt, of course, you’d have to do a hell of a lot more than that to make him feel something like pain, but even just being pulled at riled him up further, all the more determined to have you come undone, over and over again. You keened loudly, tilting your head back and looking up at the stars as your orgasm hit you like a cero, all blistering heat and tingling limbs. Your thighs were shaking as Grimmjow sat up, licking his lips.

He doesn’t bother wasting time as he undoes the ties of his hakama, divesting himself of the bothersome thing to get at you, his erect length tingling eagerly in the night air as he climbed on top of you, his teeth finding his favourite spot on your neck. The way you gasped and jolted beneath his touch made him grin as he pressed himself into your tight, delicious heat. Your body was soft, compared to his, all warmth and soft curves and a curious feeling of both desire and protectiveness surged somewhere in the pit of his stomach. Your arms wrapped around his neck and he allowed you to pull him down, sucking at your neck as he started to move, filling you in a way that made you gasp, totally involuntarily.

“Fuck!” Grimmjow almost snarled, the way you tightened around him sending a tingling tremor straight to his head, which only made him thrust all the harder, dominating and demanding. You could only let out ragged gasps and squeals as he made sure not to ignore your clit, using a free hand to toy with the sensitive bundle of nerves.

“Ah…Grimmjow, god-!” you cried out, your hands grabbing his shoulders, nails making little crescents across his shoulder blades. Not that he minded – if you wanted to leave a mark, that was fine by him. Just stood as proof how much you were losing control.

“That’s it, baby,” he praised in a low growl, licking your throat. “Come for me.”

The teasing, the rough demand and the feeling building up in your core – all these elements combined left you helpless, so it was easy enough to obey. His hand squeezed your ass hard as he delivered a few last slow, grinding thrusts and your orgasm hit hard, leaving you breathless, a whimper spilling from your lips. He snickered above you, nipping your jaw in a way that could almost be interpreted as affectionate. He pulled away, allowing you to catch your breath, eyes watching you with a lazy, satisfied expression.

Though he didn’t say it – he’d never say it, most likely, you knew that part of the reason behind his actions wasn’t just about sex. It was something to do with being grateful for the fact that, somehow, the both of you were still alive. And what better way to enjoy it than fucking? No doubt he’d scoff and call you an idiot if you voiced it out loud, but…you didn’t have such persistent doubts about whether or not you mattered to him anymore.

He pulled you to him, barely giving you time to pull your clothing back on before you were crushed against his hard, muscled chest. Not that you could really find it in you to complain too much, if you were being honest with yourself. His reiatsu settled over you, heat prickling your skin, engulfing your own in a strange, familiar way. If anybody came by and tried to mess with you right now, they wouldn’t get far, Shinigami or not. Grimmjow may not have access to a second Resurreccion just yet, but only an idiot tries to separate an Espada from what’s theirs. You were sure that whatever the secret is to obtaining a second form, he’d find it. If you could help him do that, you could. What your role would be in the new Hueco Mundo, you didn’t know just yet – nobody has ever been interested in what you want before. But that’s something to think about once the danger has well and truly passed. You rested your head on Grimmjow’s shoulder and shut your eyes, listening to his breathing slow down, his arms wrapped around you, his whole body warm and firm against your own. 

“Grimmjow- “you mumbled, despite the exhaustion catching up to you – was it really fine to just crash here while enemies weren’t too far away?

“You worry too much.” he said, somehow knowing exactly what you were thinking without even looking at your face. “Just sleep.”

You smirked, faintly. Still so bossy, even under these circumstances. But it was difficult to resist when he was warm and the night around you was so still and quiet. You let out a sigh and adjusted yourself more comfortably.

Under the crescent moon and hidden in shattered marble, an Espada and his fraccion lay together beneath the cloak of darkness and waited for the storm to pass.


	7. The Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are! The end is nigh!
> 
> I want to pause for a moment and say a profound THANK YOU to everyone who has commented, bookmarked and given kudos for The Gift. Honestly, I only expected this to just be a little three-parter or something of Fraccion!Reader, but the story suddenly turned into something bigger, a plot came to me out of nowhere and I got so much encouragement and feedback. This is the first time I've finished a full-length fanfiction here on Ao3 and I probably wouldn't have had the motivation to do so without all of you. 
> 
> With that said, I hope you enjoy the finale!

The hallway echoed with your footsteps and, thanks to the view of the moon the corridor had, you could faintly see little particles of dust floating about the place. Construction had been remarkably quick, all things considered, but it was your idea to leave some of the place without the roofs off - you liked the view of the moon. It was something familiar.

A lot had changed in Hueco Mundo in the span of a few months. The Winter War had seen a lot of casualties on the arrancar’s side, though those who had fallen weren’t really mourned all that much – there was little time for mourning in the land of the dead.

Grimmjow had refused to live in Las Noches and you couldn’t really blame him for that, considering the indignities Aizen had inflicted on the arrancar since his arrival. So that had gone automatically to Halibel and her girls, who, against all odds of having Aizen slash her down with his zanpakuto and the fraccion scorched by the powers of the Gotei Thirteen leader, himself. Apparently, that Orihime Inoue had healed them.

A strange woman, but the debt the rulers of Hueco Mundo owed her didn’t bear thinking about.

Grimmjow’s plans to be King had been derailed a little bit when it turned out he wasn’t the only Espada to survive, but it didn’t matter too much, Hueco Mundo was definitely big enough for two people to rule it, even if he accepted that fact with exceedingly poor grace. So, while Halibel held court over the ruins of Las Noches, Grimmjow had struck out elsewhere, building a new place from scratch. Hollows flocked to him, given his power level was only exceeded by Halibel’s and she was pickier about who she recruited. So, they had been tasked with helping the construction of the new palace, which didn’t have a name yet, it was just ‘the palace’ to you. 

You didn’t run into any Hollows as you walked – none of them would dare mess with you, a far cry from your days in Las Noches. Though you didn’t have the same reiatsu level as Grimmjow, you had enough by now that it was enough to keep any of the weaker ones at bay and, if that wasn’t enough of a deterrent, pissing off the King certainly was. Hell, he didn’t even need to see anybody bothering you, it was clear all you had to do was give him a name and that fucker was dust.

Good job most of the time you didn’t give a damn what some low-ranking Hollows were doing.

Finally, you reached your destination and pushed open the door with your fingertips. Grimmjow stood in the center of the room, stripping off his somewhat torn-looking jacket, an irritable expression on his face. The sight of it made you smirk a bit – some people were never satisfied.

“You’re finally back,” you commented, entering the room and kicking the door shut behind you. “What’s with that face?”

Blue eyes went straight to you, his gaze raking you up and down with a heated stare that made your skin prickle. It didn’t matter how often he directed that look at you – your body always responded to him. He noticed, and a smirk tugged at his mouth. He sat down on his huge bed, leaning back, almost like he was letting you admire his body beneath the light of the moon, the silvery glow lovingly displayed across his muscles.

“Showoff,” you deadpanned.

“Fucking idiots came from one of the colonies in the shithole part of the desert,” Grimmjow said, with an insouciant shrug. “Wasted all day getting rid of those bastards.”

That explained his singed jacket, but you doubted he cared about fighting, he was probably just sore that he had to deign killing off weaklings. That was the problem about being a King, nobody was though enough to give Grimmjow a worthy fight these days and the one person who was had no interest in a pointless battle. You weren’t terribly sympathetic – he’d gotten what he wanted, so he could deal with the drawbacks. At least he wasn’t going to the human world to try and goad Kurosaki into a fight every time he got bored, which was a plus, you really didn’t feel like having to go back to tell him to come home. At least you had an open invitation to visit Halibel’s fraccion at Las Noches whenever you wanted, which broke up the monotony of your routine nicely. You were even somewhat-friendly with Halibel, even if she still made you nervous. You supposed that surviving Nnoitra and rising above your former rank as a fraccion was worth some respect.

“What’d you expect?” you said, with a snort of amusement. “They’re idiots.”

He huffed in agreement, but he had a more important subject on his mind and he crooked a finger at you, his tone brooking no argument.

"Tch. Come here."

Rolling your eyes, you approached him - and the moment you were in grabbing distance, Grimmjow hooked an arm around your waist and pulled you onto his lap. You huffed but were happy enough to rest your head against his shoulder. Once, his reiatsu frightened you with its intensity, now it was familiar enough to you to be considered comforting. Strange, the way time changes things. 

"How's it going, anyway?" you ask. “The…other thing.”

"Soon," he shrugged.

Grimmjow didn't allow anybody to see him when he was 'training', not even you, but you didn't mind too much. It was nice to have a little time to yourself and besides, he was never gone for too long. Whenever he returned, he'd track you down and snatch you up, disappearing with you into his quarters. Most of the time, he slept - it appeared as though his training, whatever that entailed, left him fairly exhausted, not that you'd ever made this observation to his face. Sometimes, he didn't sleep, but instead worked off any leftover tension from his sessions to fuck you senseless, until your shrieks echoed odd the domed ceiling. 

Either way, one thing remained perfectly clear - he wanted you close. Though he'd never admitted it out loud, he didn't like it when you strayed too far from the palace - he made that perfectly clear, from the way he'd heatedly kiss you before he disappeared to train, marking you up, to remind any Hollow you passed exactly who you were and who you belonged to. He made sure you were by his side whenever he could. In differing circumstances, his possessiveness might have been suffocating, but his presence eased a restlessness in you, a loneliness that you couldn't put into words. And you sensed what was going on in Grimmjow's dreams, images of you being split nearly in two by Nnoitra's blade replaying over and over in his mind. He'd growl in his sleep, arms tightening around you, reiatsu rising in an unconscious threat display. It was funny how much you could intuit about a person from everything they didn't say.

Besides which, it was nice to feel so clearly wanted by someone. You were just some lowly, anonymous arrancar before, doing your best to get by without being noticed by someone powerful enough to kill you. That all changed the day you were thrust from the shadows, the day you became fraccion.

You heard from Halibel's girls that Gin was dead, after trying to stab Aizen in the back. Grimmjow's theory had turned out to be correct - it was about a girl the entire time.

Whoever Rangiku Matsumoto is, she must be one hell of a woman.

"What're you smirking about?" Grimmjow asks, breaking you out of your reverie.

"Just thinking," you replied, shivering a bit as his hand started absently travelling over your thigh. “About…how differently things could have been. I didn’t think I’d last all that long when Gin said I was going to be your fraccion, to be honest.”

Grimmjow snorted at that, pinching your chin between thumb and forefinger and turning your towards him before pressing his mouth to yours in a heated kiss, a sound that was reminiscent of both a purr and a growl in the back of his throat.

“Yeah, well, you were interesting,” he said, his hands wandering up and down your body, tickling occasionally to make you wriggle on top of him, a blush heating your face. “And a damn good fuck.”

“Psh. Is that all you keep me around for?” you asked, affecting an offended tone. 

“No, it ain’t all,” Grimmjow said, scoffing, and you let out a gasp as his hand slipped past the band of your hakama, a finger flicking over your clit. “But while we’re on the subject…”

“Gr-Grimmjow…” you hissed, squirming, your thighs clamping together reflexively. He hummed curiously in the back of his throat, the scent of your obvious arousal reaching him.

“Why? Don’t you want to, my pet?” he smirked against your neck, dragging his tongue over your throat. 

_Oh._ The way he said it, the throaty purr in his baritone voice, made something in you grow hot and squirmy and you didn’t resist as he slid his hand further down, petting at your folds. You could feel him grinning against your neck, finding the way you wriggled in pleasure at his touch and trying to maintain your composure endlessly entertaining. These sessions only ever had one conclusion – you calling his name, writhing on the bed, but there was something oddly cute about the way you tried to stay in control.

A sigh left your mouth as his other hand groped your breasts, first over the top of your uniform and then sliding beneath, his calloused fingers sliding over the sensitive flesh. His fingertips pinched your nipples lightly, rolling them between his fingers until you were panting, his fingers slipping into your warm core. A satisfied growl sounded in his throat as he started to curve his fingers inside you, wanting more of the whimpers and moans that left your mouth. You were pinned to him, his reiatsu engulfing you in a storm of electric blue, his hands mercilessly wringing as much pleasure from you as possible. Teeth nipped your throat, almost affectionately and your mind was immediately brought back to the first time you were alone with him in his quarters, the admonishing bite he’d given you back then to remind you who was boss, who you belonged to.

Now, it was about your pleasure alone, the little pinprick of pain to offset the ecstasy he gave you. Something hard dug into your hip as his thumb pressed against your clit and it was all the evidence you needed to know you were going to get it good tonight.

“Grimmjow…” you muttered, breathlessly, and he sunk his fingers deeper, right up to the knuckle.

“That’s it, baby,” he said in a low voice, right by your ear. “Come for me. Let me feel you.”

Well, he didn’t leave you very much choice in the matter, not with the relentlessness of his touch, his knowledge of your body and exactly what made you squirm. And it was all the sweeter knowing that you were safe now, nothing posed a threat to you anymore, and anything that did, he’d destroy. It didn’t matter what. 

You sank heavily against Grimmjow as your orgasm hit, a squeal spilling from your lips as he hit that sweet spot somewhere deep inside that had you feeling, pleasure spreading through your limbs. It lingered as if you’d been given an electric shock, jolts of it crackling in your bloodstream. And he wasn’t finished with you yet, not by a longshot.

He removed his hand from your hakama, licking your taste off his fingers with a lascivious smirk. An arm hooked around your waist as he pulled you back onto the bed, not even bothering to remove his boots as he settled on top of you, tugging the bothersome fabric down your soft, firm thighs.   
“Fuck, look at you,” he grinned, leaning down, strands of blue hair brushing your cheek as he nipped your throat. “You look fucking good like this.”

“You smooth talker,” you smirked up at him, ignoring the warmth blooming in your chest.

A huff of amusement by your ear, and then his hands slid up your legs, spreading them, getting a good look at you. You found it embarrassing, how eagerly he stared, but the hunger in his eyes was hard to not feel flattered by. He kissed your jaw as he entered you in one smooth motion, relishing in the feel of you wrapped around him, your arms sliding around his neck.

“Mine,” he growled, bracing his hands on your hips as he started to move. 

He wasn’t good with affection or explaining any feelings that didn’t relate to the thrill of the fight, but this was the best way he had to do both of those things. Affirmation that he wanted you by his side, that when he was away from the palace, lost in the exhausting training required to achieve his second form, his thoughts turned to you. The rage of Nnoitra cutting you down, the sheer fury that demanded he destroy the son of a bitch, the primal, animal urge to protect what was important…those were what kept him going, what caused his reiatsu to change. The process was painful, difficult, but steadily, he was getting there.

“Grimmjow!”

And making you cry his name was the best reward he could think of. Your fingernails sank into his shoulder blades, dragging down his skin and he grinned, wide and sharp.

“You fucking _minx,_ ” he growled, picking up the pace, planting his forearms either side of you so that he could really drive it into you, make you whine. “That’s it, kitten, good girl.”

Your stomach seemed to tighten at his lewd words, but you’d be a liar if you said they didn’t do anything for you. And he knew it, too, the devious bastard, but you couldn’t really complain. Especially not as he was pressing hot, urgent kisses anywhere he could reach, your mouth, neck, collarbone, breasts…you’d be covered in markings again when you woke up, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care.

“Hn…Grimmjow…” you managed to pant out loud, head swimming. “I’m so close…please…”

The muffled plea was all he needed, pressing against you so he was rubbing against your swollen clit, the extra stimulation making you cry out. The second wave of pleasure hit, and you fell back against the pillows with a sigh, boneless, hair splayed messily around your head. Your chest rose and fell with exertion, and you didn’t protest as Grimmjow pulled you to him, nuzzling into your shoulder like a cat scent-marking its territory. If Grimmjow had been aiming to make sure that you wouldn’t want to leave the bed for a while, he had certainly gotten his way.

“Did you like that, baby?” he purred, which you assumed was a rhetorical question, given that it was pretty obvious you had. His smug tone was belied by the way he pressed his lips to your neck, just the merest nip of teeth.

“I think you know the answer to that,” you replied, and yelped as he gave the back of your thigh a pinch in retaliation to your sassy reply. 

He snickered throatily, pulling you closer, a contented noise rumbling from his chest. A hand absently stroked through your hair. 

“Hope you didn’t have plans to go see those chicks in Las Noches,” he informed you, darkly amused. “You’re staying right here.”

You snickered a bit at that.

“Whatever you say, Grimmjow,” you countered, a yawn escaping your lips. He was so warm against you, an arm slung around your waist, wrapped around you like an iron bar. His reiatsu had settled now, calm as it was possible for him to be. Your eyelid drooped.

Perhaps you’d never asked for a kingdom, or for any of this, really. But if Grimmjow wanted to be a king, then that was fine by you. You had a whole realm of possibilities for what you could be, what you would do next.

After all, what was a King without a Queen by his side?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END.
> 
> And if any of you are wondering if I'll be writing a sequel...well, never say never. If the right plot comes to me, then I might. I do have some more Bleach Reader Inserts planned, so though I'm sad to wrap this up, there's definitely more where that came from. And lastly, I wish you all a Happy New Year!
> 
> ~Amulet


End file.
